noun

materialism

muh-TEER-ree-uh-lih-zuhm

noun

A strong focus on owning possessions and acquiring wealth, often at the expense of other values.

"Critics accuse the holiday season of encouraging materialism."

In philosophy, the view that only physical matter exists and that the mind and consciousness can be explained by it.

"The philosopher defended a strict materialism, denying that anything exists beyond the physical world."

How to Use Materialism

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishCaring too much about money and possessions, or, in philosophy, the belief that everything is ultimately physical.

Common pairings

rampant materialism reject materialism philosophical materialism

materialisms plural

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Critics accuse the holiday season of encouraging _____.

From French matérialisme, built from material + the suffix -ism.

realism idealism socialism vandalism capitalism liberalism surrealism journalism cannibalism nationalism imperialism colonialism