Presentism

noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    The view that neither the future nor the past exist (events and entities that are wholly past or wholly future do not exist at all). countable, uncountable
  2. 2
    the doctrine that the Scripture prophecies of the Apocalypse (as in the Book of Revelations) are presently in the course of being fulfilled wordnet
  3. 3
    The belief that only current phenomena are relevant. countable, uncountable

    "Despite the breathless presentism of the current discourse, scholarly debate on the nature of community did not originate with the introduction of new computer technologies, but arose out of earlier concerns about the transition from agrarian to urban industrial societies."

  4. 4
    The ahistorical interpretation of past phenomena in terms of current beliefs and knowledge. countable, uncountable

    "One of the driving ideas on the left right now is presentism: the notion that figures from the past can legitimately be judged by contemporary mores and values. So the Founding Fathers are cast less as architects of the new Republic, and more as slaveholders and white oppressors."

Example

More examples

"Despite the breathless presentism of the current discourse, scholarly debate on the nature of community did not originate with the introduction of new computer technologies, but arose out of earlier concerns about the transition from agrarian to urban industrial societies."

Etymology

From present + -ism.

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