Relativism

noun

noun ·5 syllables ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    The theory, especially in ethics or aesthetics, that conceptions of truth and moral values are not absolute but are relative to the persons or groups holding them. uncountable
  2. 2
    (philosophy) the philosophical doctrine that all criteria of judgment are relative to the individuals and situations involved wordnet
  3. 3
    A specific such theory, advocated by a particular philosopher or school of thought. countable

    "Following Gilbert Harman’s lead, my own formulation of relativism about the normative domain was based on the classic examples of thoroughgoing relativisms drawn from physics."

Example

More examples

"What do you mean by cultural relativism?"

Etymology

From relative + -ism.

Related phrases

cognitive relativismfactual relativismmoral relativismschool of thought

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