Textualism
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 Strict adherence to a text, especially to the Bible. countable, uncountable
"First, building on the earlier work of philologists, historians, orientalists, and biblical scholars we have noted already, the late 19th and early 20th centuries witness growth and development of textualism, in which words are seen—no, revered—as the referential embodiment of meaning and truth."
- 2 A formalist legal theory that interprets based on the ordinary meaning of the legal text. countable, uncountable
"And this is the upshot of textualism: textualists do not want judges to make the law. This, at least, is the official doctrine, and it sounds very democratic."
- 3 Textual criticism, especially that of the Bible. countable, uncountable
Example
More examples"First, building on the earlier work of philologists, historians, orientalists, and biblical scholars we have noted already, the late 19th and early 20th centuries witness growth and development of textualism, in which words are seen—no, revered—as the referential embodiment of meaning and truth."
Etymology
From textual + -ism.
More for "textualism"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.