Spencerianism

noun

Spen·​ce·​ri·​an·​ism spen-ˈsir-ē-ə-ˌni-zəm How to pronounce Spencerianism (audio)
: the synthetic philosophy of Herbert Spencer that has as its central idea the mechanistic evolution of the cosmos from relative simplicity to relative complexity

Word History

First Known Use

1881, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of Spencerianism was in 1881

Dictionary Entries Near Spencerianism

Cite this Entry

“Spencerianism.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Spencerianism. Accessed 22 Dec. 2024.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!