pragmatism

English

Etymology

From Ancient Greek stem of πρᾶγμα (prâgma, “act”) + -ism.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈpɹæɡmətɪzəm/
• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈpɹaɡmətɪzəm/

Noun

pragmatism (countable and uncountable, plural pragmatisms)

1. The pursuit of practicality over aesthetic qualities; a concentration on facts rather than emotions or ideals.
2. The habit of interfering in other people's affairs; meddlesomeness.
3. (philosophy) The idea that beliefs are identified with the actions of a believer, and the truth of beliefs with success of those actions in securing a believer's goals; the doctrine that ideas must be looked at in terms of their practical effects and consequences.
   • 1902, William James, “Lecture XVIII: Philosophy”, in The Varieties of Religious Experience: A Study in Human Nature […] , New York, N.Y.; London: Longmans, Green, and Co. […], →OCLC, page 445:

     Our conception of these practical consequences is for us the whole of our conception of the object, so far as that conception has positive significance at all. This is the principle of [Charles Sanders] Peirce, the principle of pragmatism.

4. (politics) The theory that political problems should be met with practical solutions rather than ideological ones.

Antonyms

• idealism
• contemplation

Related terms

• pragmatic
• pragmatically
• pragmatist

Translations

pursuit of practicality over aesthetic qualities

• Catalan: pragmatisme m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 實用主義 / 实用主义 (zh) (shíyòngzhǔyì)

• Dutch: pragmatisme (nl) m
• Finnish: pragmatismi, pragmaattisuus (fi)
• French: pragmatisme (fr) m
• Galician: pragmatismo (gl) m
• German: Pragmatismus (de) m
• Irish: réadúlacht f
• Japanese: プラグマティズム (ja) (puragumatizumu), 実用主義 (ja) (じつようしゅぎ, jitsuyōshugi)
• Lithuanian: pragmatika f
• Portuguese: pragmatismo (pt) m
• Romanian: pragmatism (ro) n
• Russian: прагмати́зм (ru) m (pragmatízm)
• Serbo-Croatian: pragmatìzam (sh) m, прагматѝзам m
• Spanish: pragmatismo (es) m
• Ukrainian: прагмати́зм (uk) m (prahmatýzm)

political theory that problems should be met with/by practical solutions rather than ideological ones

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Dutch: pragmatisme (nl) m
• Finnish: pragmatismi
• Galician: pragmatismo (gl) m
• Irish: réadúlacht f
• Lithuanian: pragmatika f
• Portuguese: pragmatismo (pt) m
• Romanian: pragmatism (ro) n
• Russian: прагмати́зм (ru) m (pragmatízm)
• Spanish: pragmatismo (es) m
• Ukrainian: прагмати́зм (uk) m (prahmatýzm)

philosophical idea that beliefs are identified with the actions of a believer

• Catalan: pragmatisme m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Dutch: pragmatisme (nl) m
• Finnish: pragmatismi
• Galician: pragmatismo (gl) m
• German: Pragmatismus (de) m
• Hindi: अर्थक्रियावाद (arthakriyāvād), व्यावहारिकतावाद (vyāvhāriktāvād), प्रयोजनवाद (prayojanvād)
• Hungarian: pragmatizmus (hu)
• Irish: réadúlacht f
• Italian: pragmatismo (it) m
• Lithuanian: pragmatika f
• Portuguese: pragmatismo (pt) m
• Romanian: pragmatism (ro) n
• Russian: прагмати́зм (ru) m (pragmatízm)
• Spanish: pragmatismo (es) m
• Turkish: pragmatizm (tr), faydacılık (tr), yararcılık (tr)
• Ukrainian: прагмати́зм (uk) m (prahmatýzm)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Esperanto: ^{(please verify)} pragmatismo (eo)
• French: ^{(please verify)} pragmatisme (fr) m
• German: ^{(please verify)} Pragmatismus (de) m
• Serbo-Croatian: ^{(please verify)} pragmatizam (sh) m

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French pragmatisme.

Noun

pragmatism n (uncountable)

1. pragmatism

Declension

singular only	indefinite	definite
nominative-accusative	pragmatism	pragmatismul
genitive-dative	pragmatism	pragmatismului
vocative	pragmatismule