Ecumenopolitan
adj, noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 An inhabitant of the Ecumenopolis, especially during its inchoate phase. rare
"When such cities are formed ‘Ecumenopolitans’, crossing national boundaries daily, would establish the ultimate form of civilization on the earth. [¶] Born from existing cities and the individual places in which citizenship is established, each city will be a ‘metapolis’, an urban unit for Ecumenopolitans built in a super-architecture. A ‘metapolis’ will be a junction point of mobile information."
- 2 An inhabitant of an ecumenopolis, especially one actively involved in its political arena.
"The danger of this pattern is of course that the ecumenopolitan becomes spread very thin among various roles and locations. As a citizen of the world we see more of the whole picture but become frustrated in trying to find where the need is greatest so we can “plug in.”"
- 1 Of or characteristic of the Ecumenopolis. not-comparable
"Planners and urban designers would, then, be able to conceive a clear and strong image of the Earth’s future urban patterns, with each city (hopefully) keeping its own visible identity and having its own open lands, water bodies, and recreational areas all around. Such an image, if properly invented, advocated, accepted by political leaders, and loved by the people, cannot but create the magnetism, enthusiasm, and power that will help us implement it in the decades ahead, thus avoiding the Ecumenopolitan horror of combined complete congestion and sprawl that Doxiadis would have our grandchildren and great-grandchildren inhabit!"
- 2 Of or conducive to the development, befitting the scale, or characteristic of an ecumenopolis or ecumenopoleis. not-comparable
"[…] “ecumenopolitan” formations."
Example
More examples"Planners and urban designers would, then, be able to conceive a clear and strong image of the Earth’s future urban patterns, with each city (hopefully) keeping its own visible identity and having its own open lands, water bodies, and recreational areas all around. Such an image, if properly invented, advocated, accepted by political leaders, and loved by the people, cannot but create the magnetism, enthusiasm, and power that will help us implement it in the decades ahead, thus avoiding the Ecumenopolitan horror of combined complete congestion and sprawl that Doxiadis would have our grandchildren and great-grandchildren inhabit!"
Etymology
Adjectival sense first attested in 1969; nominal sense in 1977: Ecumenopolis + -itan, formed on the pattern of megalopolitan, necropolitan.
From ecumenopolis + -ity + -an. First reliably attested in 1974: either, as from Ecumenopolitan, or a generalised use thereof, parallel with the development of ecumenopolis.
More for "ecumenopolitan"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.