animalism

[ an-uh-muh-liz-uhm ]
See synonyms for animalism on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. preoccupation with or motivation by sensual, physical, or carnal appetites rather than moral, spiritual, or intellectual forces.

  2. the theory that human beings lack a spiritual nature.

Origin of animalism

1
First recorded in 1825–35; animal(ize) + -ism

Words Nearby animalism

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use animalism in a sentence

  • It is difficult to give the reader an idea of the utter animalism, if I may so term it, of p. 53rural life some fifty years ago.

    East Anglia | J. Ewing Ritchie
  • "The supremacy of love," meaning the supremacy of animalism, is the excuse for undermining the very foundations of family life.

    Our Lady Saint Mary | J. G. H. Barry
  • We are persistently taught that we are animals and nothing more,let us therefore not be ashamed of animalism.

    The Sorrows of Satan | Marie Corelli
  • The greater animalism of man also comes out here in full force.

    A New Atmosphere | Gail Hamilton
  • Then worse than this, still greater multitudes are prompted to this union by sensuous desires—base animalism.

British Dictionary definitions for animalism

animalism

/ (ˈænɪməˌlɪzəm) /


noun
  1. satisfaction of or preoccupation with physical matters; sensuality

  2. the doctrine or belief that man lacks a spiritual nature

  1. a trait or mode of behaviour typical of animals

Derived forms of animalism

  • animalist, noun

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