mercantilism
mercantile practices or spirit; commercialism.
Compare Meanings
Click for a side-by-side comparison of meanings. Use the word comparison feature to learn the differences between similar and commonly confused words.
Origin of mercantilism
1Other words from mercantilism
- mer·can·til·ist, noun, adjective
- mer·can·til·is·tic, adjective
Words Nearby mercantilism
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use mercantilism in a sentence
Adam Smith wrote “The Wealth of Nations” to denounce mercantilism, the crony capitalism of his day.
Morici blames the return of stagflation on "Chinese mercantilism" as its government fixes oil prices at home at low levels.
"If you want to know why there are riots in Egypt, it's because of Chinese mercantilism," he says.
In spite of mercantilism, economic questions never became in England the pre-occupation of specialists.
The Agrarian Problem in the Sixteenth Century | Richard Henry TawneyIndeed it has been fairly observed that Hume retains an attitude of refined mercantilism.
The Spanish trade regulations; mercantilism; the staple cities.
A Syllabus of Hispanic-American History | William Whatley PiersonHence, Russian mercantilism was predominantly a state mercantilism.
A History of Trade Unionism in the United States | Selig Perlmanmercantilism was still in the ascendant when Adam Smith came to write.
Political Thought in England from Locke to Bentham | Harold J. Laski
British Dictionary definitions for mercantilism
/ (ˈmɜːkəntɪˌlɪzəm) /
Also called: mercantile system economics a theory prevalent in Europe during the 17th and 18th centuries asserting that the wealth of a nation depends on its possession of precious metals and therefore that the government of a nation must maximize the foreign trade surplus, and foster national commercial interests, a merchant marine, the establishment of colonies, etc
a rare word for commercialism (def. 1)
Derived forms of mercantilism
- mercantilist, noun, adjective
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
Cultural definitions for mercantilism
[ (mur-kuhn-tee-liz-uhm, mur-kuhn-ti-liz-uhm, mur-kuhn-teye-liz-uhm) ]
An economic doctrine that flourished in Europe from the sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries. Mercantilists held that a nation's wealth consisted primarily in the amount of gold and silver in its treasury. Accordingly, mercantilist governments imposed extensive restrictions on their economies to ensure a surplus of exports over imports. In the eighteenth century, mercantilism was challenged by the doctrine of laissez-faire. (See also Adam Smith.)
Notes for mercantilism
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Browse