structuralism

[struhk-cher-uh-liz-uh m]

noun

any theory that embodies structural principles.

structural anthropology.

structural linguistics.

structural psychology.

Origin of structuralism

First recorded in 1945–50; structural + -ism

Related formsstruc·tur·al·ist, noun, adjectivestruc·tur·al·is·tic, adjectivean·ti·struc·tur·al·ist, noun, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for structuralism

Contemporary Examples of structuralism

According to François Dosse, the author of a monumental History of Structuralism, 1966 marked the high tide of this new paradigm.
Derrida’s ‘Of Grammatology’ and the Birth of Deconstruction
Benoît Peeters
December 21, 2012

British Dictionary definitions for structuralism

structuralism

noun

an approach to anthropology and other social sciences and to literature that interprets and analyses its material in terms of oppositions, contrasts, and hierarchical structures, esp as they might reflect universal mental characteristics or organizing principlesCompare functionalism

an approach to linguistics that analyses and describes the structure of language, as distinguished from its comparative and historical aspects

Derived Formsstructuralist, noun, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for structuralism

1907, originally in psychology; see structural + -ism.