materialism C2 Topic:Describing Qualities US /məˈtɪɹiəlɪzəm/ UK /məˈtɪəɹiəlɪzəm/ See IPA manual Freq #40274 Meanings 1 noun A strong focus on owning things and having money rather than on spiritual or moral values. She criticized the materialism of a society that measures success only by how much you own. 2 noun The philosophical view that nothing exists except physical matter. As a scientist, he leaned toward materialism, believing the mind is simply the activity of the brain. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 noun · a strong focus on owning... philistinism 2 noun · the philosophical view that... physicalismphilosophical materialism Word family Derived forms antimaterialismhypermaterialismneo-materialismnonmaterialismpostmaterialism Related forms idealismmaterialistmaterialisticphysicalism Common collocations dialectical materialism Adjective + noun Etymology AI details Borrowed from French matérialisme. By surface analysis, material + -ism. Topics Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # materialism **Type:** Word **Level:** C2 **Part of speech:** noun **IPA (US):** /məˈtɪɹiəlɪzəm/ **IPA (UK):** /məˈtɪəɹiəlɪzəm/ **Frequency rank:** 40274 ## Meanings 1. A strong focus on owning things and having money rather than on spiritual or moral values. 2. The philosophical view that nothing exists except physical matter. ## Examples - She criticized the materialism of a society that measures success only by how much you own. - As a scientist, he leaned toward materialism, believing the mind is simply the activity of the brain. ## Derived Forms - antimaterialism - hypermaterialism - neo-materialism - nonmaterialism - postmaterialism ## Related Forms - idealism - materialist - materialistic - physicalism ## Etymology Borrowed from French matérialisme. By surface analysis, material + -ism. ## AI Etymology Materialism is borrowed from French matérialisme. By surface analysis, material + -ism. In present-day use, it can mean a strong focus on owning things and having money rather than on spiritual or moral values, or the philosophical view that nothing exists except physical matter. Derived formations include antimaterialism, hypermaterialism, neo-materialism, nonmaterialism, and postmaterialism. ## Topics - Describing Qualities - Word Formation & Derivatives markdown