utilitarian
Americanadjective
-
pertaining to or consisting in utility.
-
having regard to utility or usefulness rather than beauty, ornamentation, etc.
- Synonyms:
- sensible, functional, useful, practical
-
of, relating to, or adhering to the doctrine of utilitarianism.
noun
-
utilitarians
plural
adjective
-
of or relating to utilitarianism
-
designed for use rather than beauty
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of utilitarian
Explanation
The adjective utilitarian describes something that is useful or functional. If you are attracted to a car for its storage space and gas mileage — as opposed to its sparkly tire rims — then chances are you value a car's utilitarian features. The word utilitarian was coined by the philosopher and judge Jeremy Bentham, who argued that his principle of utility would create the "greatest happiness for the greatest number of people." The noun form of utilitarian refers to a person who adheres to this philosophy of usefulness. "They couldn't agree on the decor for their living room. She wanted whimsy — delicate tables, fragile statues of fairies and unicorns, and cushions on the floor to sit on. He wanted something more utilitarian and useful — comfortable chairs, a giant TV, and sturdy tables to put your feet on."
Vocabulary lists containing utilitarian
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Power Suffix: -arian
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
A cute AI agent is likely to generate more traction among consumers than a utilitarian large language model, Steinwold said.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 3, 2026
Classical liberal-arts education fits this model and will take on a greater importance in the age of AI, even as utilitarian models for education wane.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026
In contrast, Wilson - often anchored by his ever-present pipe and Gannex coat - was famed for a pragmatic, utilitarian wardrobe that defined the "cloth-cap" socialism of the 1960s and 70s.
From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026
Tra Jones, general manager of the new amphitheater and a Long Beach native, said he’s striving to make it feel less stopgap and utilitarian than FivePoint.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 4, 2026
They were set in small grassless plots littered with broken things, bricks, planks, crockery, things of a once utilitarian value.
From "The Sound and the Fury" by William Faulkner
For standard utilitarians, people are nothing more than the "containers" or "vessels" of value.
From Salon ● Jul. 17, 2022
For utilitarians, the only intrinsic value is happiness.
From Textbooks ● Jun. 15, 2022
According to utilitarians, we have a moral obligation or responsibility to choose the action that produces the most happiness.
From Textbooks ● Jun. 15, 2022
According to utilitarians, rules are made to be broken, when you make people happier by breaking them.
From The Guardian ● Apr. 10, 2020
A military training is not the worst preparation for an active life, any more than the years spent at college are time lost, as another school of utilitarians insists.
From The Interest of America in Sea Power, Present and Future by A. T. (Alfred Thayer) Mahan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
