hedonic

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Psychologists call this hedonic adaptation: the tendency to absorb improvements into our baseline until they no longer feel like gains.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 18, 2026

The BLS also tries to identify price changes by controlling for improvements in product quality for a lot of goods—including computers, internet access, phone plans, and cars—through a process called hedonic price adjustment.

From Slate • Apr. 24, 2026

He explained that to younger people like his students, collecting and renting DVDs is a way “to be able to slow down and get off this hedonic treadmill of ‘where’s my next stimulus coming from.’”

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 23, 2026

Psychologists differentiate between two aspects of happiness: "hedonic wellbeing," related to emotional experiences, and "eudemonic wellbeing," which concerns meaning and purpose in life.

From BBC • Dec. 25, 2024

Our conduct must be judged wise or foolish according as, in the long-run, we find a favourable "hedonic" balance-sheet.

From The Contemporary Review, Volume 36, November 1879 by Various