utilitarian

[yoo-til-i-tair-ee-uh n]

See more synonyms for utilitarian on Thesaurus.com

adjective

pertaining to or consisting in utility.
having regard to utility or usefulness rather than beauty, ornamentation, etc.
of, relating to, or adhering to the doctrine of utilitarianism.

noun

an adherent of utilitarianism.

Origin of utilitarian

First recorded in 1775–85; utilit(y) + -arian

Related formsan·ti·u·til·i·tar·i·an, adjective, nounnon·u·til·i·tar·i·an, adjective, nounun·u·til·i·tar·i·an, adjective

Synonyms

See more synonyms for utilitarian on Thesaurus.com

2. practical, useful, functional, sensible.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for utilitarian

Contemporary Examples

Is that a utilitarian approach—that you need to understand how institutions have changed to understand the way they are?
Thank Congress, Not LBJ for Great Society
Julian Zelizer, Scott Porch
January 4, 2015
Everything is meant to be utilitarian and efficient, at the expense of relaxation or comfort.
Why Smart People Are Dumb Patients
Jean Kim
July 14, 2014
The problem is that professional intelligence is mechanical and functional – utilitarian.
Richard Hofstadter and America’s New Wave of Anti-Intellectualism
David Masciotra
March 9, 2014
The available options were utilitarian and only came in a few colors.
Concealed Carry Handbags: An Evening Bag for Your Gun?
Erin Cunningham
October 15, 2013
With "Jim and the Indians," as the above scenario is known, the utilitarian calculus is clear: save 19 lives.
A Sophistic Moral Case For War
Ali Gharib
October 27, 2012

Historical Examples

We call ours a utilitarian age, and we do not know the uses of any single thing.
De Profundis
Oscar Wilde
But Shelley's world was the world of the utilitarian Godwin and the mathematical Condorcet.
Shelley, Godwin and Their Circle
H. N. Brailsford
In the most commercial and utilitarian states of society the power of ideas remains.
The Republic
Plato
The Utilitarian finds a place in his system for this virtue and for every other.'
Philebus
Plato
Yet of this interval the utilitarian theory takes no cognizance.
Philebus
Plato

British Dictionary definitions for utilitarian

utilitarian

adjective

of or relating to utilitarianism
designed for use rather than beauty

noun

a person who believes in utilitarianism

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 utilitarian

1781, coined by Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) from utility. One guided by the doctrine of the greatest happiness for the greatest number.

utilitarian

Origin of .css-1fxfie5{font-size:22px;}@media (max-width:768px){.css-1fxfie5{font-size:18px;margin:0 10px 10px 0;word-break:break-all;word-wrap:break-word;-webkit-hyphens:auto;-moz-hyphens:auto;-ms-hyphens:auto;hyphens:auto;line-height:22px;}}utilitarian

Synonyms

Examples from the Web for utilitarian

Contemporary Examples

Is that a utilitarian approach—that you need to understand how institutions have changed to understand the way they are?

Everything is meant to be utilitarian and efficient, at the expense of relaxation or comfort.

The problem is that professional intelligence is mechanical and functional – utilitarian.

The available options were utilitarian and only came in a few colors.

With "Jim and the Indians," as the above scenario is known, the utilitarian calculus is clear: save 19 lives.

Historical Examples

We call ours a utilitarian age, and we do not know the uses of any single thing.

But Shelley's world was the world of the utilitarian Godwin and the mathematical Condorcet.

In the most commercial and utilitarian states of society the power of ideas remains.

The Utilitarian finds a place in his system for this virtue and for every other.'

Yet of this interval the utilitarian theory takes no cognizance.

utilitarian

Word Origin and History for utilitarian

Origin of utilitarian