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materialism

[muh-teer-ee-uh-liz-uhm] / məˈtɪər i əˌlɪz əm /
NOUN
desire for possessions
Synonyms
Antonyms


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.

The most arresting argument against materialism arrives with the third scientific finding the documentary presents, the discovery of the astonishing complexity of even the simplest forms of life.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 16, 2026

"It's been crowded like this for the last couple of states," he told those in attendance, urging listeners to avoid "chasing materialism" and to abandon thoughts of greed, anger and hatred.

From Barron's • Feb. 3, 2026

The older anti-vice crowd and the newer social justice crowd talk of greed, materialism, addictive behaviors, caring for the poor and vulnerable—“Those can be compelling arguments,” Williams said.

From Slate • Sep. 5, 2025

“The idealism of the 1960s was yielding to the materialism of the 1980s, a new preoccupation with the navel-gazing, ego-stroking life,” Grynbaum writes.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 14, 2025

For Glanvill, and others like him, the new science was intended to serve as a bulwark against materialism and atheism; being modern and believing in witchcraft went hand in hand.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton



Vocabulary lists containing materialism


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