materialist
materialist Lexical Profile
materialist Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A person who considers material possessions and physical comfort to be more important than spiritual or intellectual values.
"He was a self-proclaimed materialist who measured personal success entirely by luxury cars and designer clothes."
An adherent of the philosophical theory that nothing exists except physical matter and its movements and modifications.
"As a scientific materialist, she sought to explain human consciousness entirely through neural activity in the brain."
• adjective
Relating to or based on the philosophical doctrine that physical matter is the only fundamental reality.
"The professor presented a strictly materialist interpretation of human history and social evolution."
Excessively concerned with physical comfort or the acquisition of wealth and material possessions.
"Many critics argue that modern advertising promotes a shallow, materialist culture."
Word Nuance & Usage
As an adjective, 'materialist' is typically used in neutral academic or philosophical contexts (e.g., 'a materialist theory of mind'), whereas 'materialistic' is preferred in everyday speech to criticize someone as greedy or overly focused on money and possessions.
• Rhymes for materialist
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Formed in the late 17th century from 'material' plus the suffix '-ist', originally coined in philosophy to describe thinkers who held that physical matter is the sole reality.