What does "sensualism" mean?
Addiction to or obsession with sensual pleasures or affairs.
Sensualism
noun
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Addiction to or obsession with sensual pleasures or affairs.
- Grammar: sensualism is listed as noun.
- Nearest alternatives: sensationalism, animalism, appetite, dissipation.
- Usage evidence: 1858, The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 2, No. 1, Gottfried Wilhem von Leibnitz, He [Locke] repudiated any supposed dowry of original truths or innate or connate ideas, and endeavored to show how, by acting on the report of the senses and personal experience, the understanding arrives at all the ideas of which it is conscious. The mode of procedure in this case is empiricism; the result with Locke was sensualism,--more fully developed by Condillac, [18] in the next century.
How to use "sensualism"
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Meaning check
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Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "sensualism" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
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Compare nearby meanings
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Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "sensualism" is acting as noun in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
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3. Confirm with context
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Final meaning check
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When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Addiction to or obsession with sensual pleasures or affairs. countable, uncountable
- 2 (philosophy) the ethical doctrine that feeling is the only criterion for what is good wordnet
- 3 The doctrine that gratification of the senses is the highest good. countable, uncountable
- 4 desire for sensual pleasures wordnet
- 5 The doctrine that all knowledge not only originates in sensation, but are transformed sensations, copies or relics of sensations; sensationalism. countable, uncountable
"1858, The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 2, No. 1, Gottfried Wilhem von Leibnitz, He [Locke] repudiated any supposed dowry of original truths or innate or connate ideas, and endeavored to show how, by acting on the report of the senses and personal experience, the understanding arrives at all the ideas of which it is conscious. The mode of procedure in this case is empiricism; the result with Locke was sensualism,--more fully developed by Condillac, [18] in the next century."
Show 1 more definition
- 6 A sensual style or aesthetic. countable, uncountable
Example
"1858, The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 2, No. 1, Gottfried Wilhem von Leibnitz, He [Locke] repudiated any supposed dowry of original truths or innate or connate ideas, and endeavored to show how, by acting on the report of the senses and personal experience, the understanding arrives at all the ideas of which it is conscious. The mode of procedure in this case is empiricism; the result with Locke was sensualism,--more fully developed by Condillac, [18] in the next century."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "sensualism"?
Common synonyms include: sensationalism, animalism, appetite, dissipation, epicureanism, epicurism.
How do you use "sensualism" in a sentence?
1858, The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 2, No. 1, Gottfried Wilhem von Leibnitz, He [Locke] repudiated any supposed dowry of original truths or innate or connate ideas, and endeavored to show how, by acting on the report of the senses and personal experience, the understanding arrives at all the ideas of which it is conscious. The mode of procedure in this case is empiricism; the result with Locke was sensualism,--more fully developed by Condillac, [18] in the next century.
Etymology
From sensual + -ism.