Logo
dictionary thesaurus

meliorism

noun
me·​lio·​rism | \ ˈmēl-yə-ˌri-zəm How to pronounce meliorism (audio) , ˈmē-lē-ə-\

Definition of meliorism

: the belief that the world tends to improve and that humans can aid its betterment
Other Words from meliorism Did You Know? Example Sentences Learn More about meliorism

Keep scrolling for more

Other Words from meliorism

meliorist \ ˈmēl-​yə-​rist How to pronounce meliorist (audio) , ˈmē-​lē-​ə-​ \ adjective or noun
melioristic \ ˌmēl-​yə-​ˈri-​stik How to pronounce melioristic (audio) , ˌmē-​lē-​ə-​ \ adjective

Did You Know?

In 1877, British novelist George Eliot believed she had coined meliorist when she wrote, "I don't know that I ever heard anybody use the word 'meliorist' except myself." Her contemporaries credited her with coining both meliorist and meliorism, and one of her letters contains the first documented use of meliorism, but there is evidence that meliorist had been around for 40 years or so before she started using it. Whoever coined it did so by drawing on the Latin melior, meaning "better." It is likely that the English coinages were also influenced by another melior descendant, meliorate, a synonym of ameliorate ("to make better") that was introduced to English in the mid-1500s.

Examples of meliorism in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

 To its critics, this modesty and meliorism represent cowardice. — Rosa Inocencio Smith, The Atlantic, "The Atlantic," 10 Aug. 2017

First Known Use of meliorism

1877, in the meaning defined above

Keep scrolling for more

WORD OF THE DAY

tantalize

play

See Definitions and Examples

Get Word of the Day daily email!