What does "aestheticism" mean?
A doctrine which holds aesthetics or beauty as the highest ideal or most basic standard.
Aestheticism
/ˌæsˈθɛ.tɪˌsɪ.zəm/ noun
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A doctrine which holds aesthetics or beauty as the highest ideal or most basic standard.
- Grammar: aestheticism is listed as noun.
- Nearest alternatives: aesthetic philosophy, aesthetic sense, art for art's sake, beauty philosophy.
- Useful contrasts: anti aesthetics, art-historical criticism, functional focus.
- Usage evidence: Both Decadence and Aestheticism, as intellectual movements, have fallen into the nadir of oblivion, and the dust lies heavy upon them, but they left a little leaven to lighten the heavy inertness of correct and academic literature; and now Symbolism, a greater movement than either, is in the ascendant, giving another turn to the wheel, and to all who think deeply about such matters it seems as though Symbolist literature is to be the literature of the future.
How to use "aestheticism"
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Meaning check
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Source and review context
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Definition decision workflow
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Definitions
Noun
- 1 A doctrine which holds aesthetics or beauty as the highest ideal or most basic standard. countable, uncountable
"He went over his canvases with disgust and anger, unable to see virtue in any one of them. Even his sacred Oyster Girl went back on him. The creature of a vitiated æstheticism, he could only suppose that conceit had played an abominable trick on his eyesight."
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"Both Decadence and Aestheticism, as intellectual movements, have fallen into the nadir of oblivion, and the dust lies heavy upon them, but they left a little leaven to lighten the heavy inertness of correct and academic literature; and now Symbolism, a greater movement than either, is in the ascendant, giving another turn to the wheel, and to all who think deeply about such matters it seems as though Symbolist literature is to be the literature of the future."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "aestheticism"?
Common synonyms include: aesthetic philosophy, aesthetic sense, art for art's sake, beauty philosophy, discrimination, sensibility.
How do you use "aestheticism" in a sentence?
Both Decadence and Aestheticism, as intellectual movements, have fallen into the nadir of oblivion, and the dust lies heavy upon them, but they left a little leaven to lighten the heavy inertness of correct and academic literature; and now Symbolism, a greater movement than either, is in the ascendant, giving another turn to the wheel, and to all who think deeply about such matters it seems as though Symbolist literature is to be the literature of the future.
How do you pronounce "aestheticism"?
Pronounced /ˌæsˈθɛ.tɪˌsɪ.zəm/.
Etymology
From aesthetic + -ism.