essentialism

C2+ Topic:Actions & Processes
US /ɪˈsɛnʃəˌlɪzəm/ UK /ɪˈsɛnʃəlɪzəm/
noun

Meanings

  1. 1
    noun

    the view that things have a fixed set of essential underlying properties

    Critics accused the theory of an essentialism that ignored cultural change.

Thesaurus

Opposites
nominalismexistentialismconstructivism
Word family
Derived forms essentialist
Related forms essenceessential

Etymology

Formed in English from essential (Late Latin essentialis, from essentia 'being, essence', from esse 'to be') with the suffix -ism.

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Topics

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