6 results for: materialism

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

ma·te·ri·al·ism

Audio Help [muh-teer-ee-uh-liz-uh

–noun

1.	preoccupation with or emphasis on material objects, comforts, and considerations, with a disinterest in or rejection of spiritual, intellectual, or cultural values.

2.	the philosophical theory that regards matter and its motions as constituting the universe, and all phenomena, including those of mind, as due to material agencies.

[Origin: 1740–50; < NL māteriālismus. See material, -ism

]

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
materialism

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

ma·te·ri·al·ism Audio Help (mə-tîr'ē-ə-lĭz'əm) Pronunciation Key
n.

Philosophy The theory that physical matter is the only reality and that everything, including thought, feeling, mind, and will, can be explained in terms of matter and physical phenomena.
The theory or attitude that physical well-being and worldly possessions constitute the greatest good and highest value in life.
A great or excessive regard for worldly concerns.

ma·te'ri·al·ist n., ma·te'ri·al·is'tic adj., ma·te'ri·al·is'ti·cal·ly adv.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

materialism
noun
1.	a desire for wealth and material possessions with little interest in ethical or spiritual matters
2.	(philosophy) the philosophical theory that matter is the only reality

American Heritage New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition - Cite This Source - Share This
materialism

In philosophy, the position that nothing exists except matter — things that can be measured or known through the senses. Materialists deny the existence of spirit, and they look for physical explanations for all phenomena. Thus, for example, they trace mental states to the brain or nervous system, rather than to the spirit or the soul. Marxism, because it sees human culture as the product of economic forces, is a materialist system of beliefs.

[Chapter:] World Literature, Philosophy, and Religion

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Materialism

Hy"lo*the*ism\, n. [Gr. ? wood, matter + ? God.] The doctrine of belief that matter is God, or that there is no God except matter and the universe; pantheism. See Materialism.

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