academicism

noun

ac·​a·​dem·​i·​cism ˌa-kə-ˈde-mə-ˌsi-zəm 

variants or less commonly academism

ə-ˈka-də-ˌmi-zəm 

1

: the doctrines of Plato's Academy

specifically : the skeptical doctrines of the later Academy holding that nothing can be known compare pyrrhonism

2

: a formal academic quality (as in art or music)

3

: purely speculative thoughts and attitudes

Examples of academicism in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Also on view are five smaller paintings from the 1880s and ’90s that touch on Klimt’s development from the romanticized academicism evident in the public murals to his late landscapes. —Roberta Smith, New York Times, 10 Mar. 2024

When certain filmmakers presume to contrive stories of rural people of faith, there’s always the risk that a certain academicism, and some worse things, will dominate their explorations. —Glenn Kenny, BostonGlobe.com, 16 May 2023

But for researchers like Garcia-Romeu, measuring and quantifying the relationship between mystical states and mental health improvement goes beyond mere academicism. —Natan Ponieman, Forbes, 1 Oct. 2021

But three paintings from after 1900 stand out for their size and ambition, if also their increasing academicism. —Roberta Smith, New York Times, 6 Jan. 2020

Word History

Etymology

academic entry 1 or academy + -ism

First Known Use

1610, in the meaning defined at sense 1