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• universalism
  universalism

  noun

  universal character; universality.
• Universalism
  Universalism

  noun

  a system of religious beliefs maintaining that all men are predestined for salvation

universalism

American  

[yoo-nuh-vur-suh-liz-uhm] / ˌyu nəˈvɜr səˌlɪz əm /

noun

1. universal character; universality.

2. a universal range of knowledge, interests, or activities.

3. (initial capital letter) the doctrine that emphasizes the universal fatherhood of God and the final salvation of all souls.

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universalism ¹ British  

/ ˌjuːnɪˈvɜːsəˌlɪzəm /

noun

1. a universal feature or characteristic

2. another word for universality

3. social welfare the principle that welfare services should be available to all by right, according to need, and not restricted by individual ability to pay, but funded by general contributions through taxes, rates, or national insurance payments

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Universalism ² British  

/ ˌjuːnɪˈvɜːsəˌlɪzəm /

noun

1. a system of religious beliefs maintaining that all men are predestined for salvation

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Other Word Forms

• Universalist
  noun

Etymology

Origin of universalism

First recorded in 1795–1805; universal + -ism

Example Sentences

“They will be Palestinian New Yorkers in Bay Ridge who will no longer have to contend with a politics that speaks of universalism and then makes them the exception.”

From Slate • Jan. 3, 2026

Habsburg universalism rested on the Catholic Church, the symbolic order of the Holy Roman Empire and the use of Latin as the “neutral language of administration.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 26, 2025

While focusing on all students, the foundation is also tailoring some of its offerings to particular student groups — a principle called targeted universalism.

From Seattle Times • Jan. 22, 2024

Brustein’s universalism grew ornerier and more claustrophobic with age.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 8, 2023

Nature tosses out indiscriminately her motley productions, and if you are born for such "universalism," you may swallow them wholesale.

From Visions and Revisions A Book of Literary Devotions by Powys, John Cowper