What does "anthropocentrism" mean?

A viewpoint or theory that places human beings at the center of everything, giving preference to human beings above all other considerations.

What is a synonym for "anthropocentrism"?

Common synonyms include: anthropocentricity, homocentricism, humanocentrism.

Pronounced //ˌæn.θɹə.poʊˈsɛn.tɹɪz.m//.

//ˌæn.θɹə.poʊˈsɛn.tɹɪz.m// noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Noun

1
A viewpoint or theory that places human beings at the center of everything, giving preference to human beings above all other considerations. countable, uncountable
"Is challenging anthropocentrism irrelevant and unhelpful? The arguments against human—centredness I have advanced in the previous chapter include a strongly prudential one for the human species — that anthropocentrism leads to […]"
2
an inclination to evaluate reality exclusively in terms of human values wordnet

"I do not really treat languages by anthropomorphism or anthropocentrism. An algebra is not a person. A calculus is not a person."

Originated 1905-1910, anthropocentric + -ism. Equivalent to anthropo- + -centrism.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.