utilitarian

English

Etymology

From utility +‎ -arian. Coined by English philosopher Jeremy Bentham as early as 1781, and popularized by his student John Stuart Mill, who mistakenly attributed the term to John Galt.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /juːˌtɪlɪˈtɛːɹi.ən/
• (General American, Mary–marry–merry merger) IPA^(key): /juˌtɪləˈtɛɹi.ən/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Adjective

utilitarian (comparative more utilitarian, superlative most utilitarian)

1. Of or relating to utility.
2. (ethics) Pertaining to utilitarianism.
3. Practical and functional, present for use, not just for show.
   • 1941 October, “Notes and News: Great Western Parcels Railcar”, in Railway Magazine, page 474:

     The semi-streamlined contour of the earlier G.W.R. railcars has been given up in favour of a more utilitarian blunt-nose end, and effective floor space gained thereby.

   • 2020 December 2, Anthony Lambert, “Reimagining Railway Stations”, in Rail, pages 38–39:

     These have helped develop a recognition in the industry that bland utilitarian stations do not provide an attractive welcome to the railway, that passengers value stations of character as well as convenience, and that these qualities encourage greater use of trains.

Translations

of or relating to utility

• German: nützlich (de), zweckmäßig (de)
• Polish: użytkowy (pl)

pertaining to utilitarianism

• Bulgarian: утилитарен (bg) (utilitaren)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Dutch: utilistisch (nl)
• Finnish: utilitaristinen
• French: utilitariste (fr)
• German: utilitaristisch (de)
• Italian: utilitaristico (it)
• Japanese: 功利的な (こうりてきな, kōriteki na)
• Korean: 공리주의적인 (gongnijuuijeogin)
• Polish: utylitarystyczny (pl)
• Portuguese: utilitário (pt) m
• Romanian: utilitarist (ro)
• Russian: please add this translation if you can
• Spanish: please add this translation if you can
• Swedish: utilitaristisk (sv)
• Yiddish: אוטיליטאַריש (utilitarish)

practical and functional, not just for show

• Catalan: utilitari (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 功利主義／功利主义 (zh) (hant)

• Danish: utilitaristisk, funktionel
• Finnish: hyödyllinen (fi), käytännöllinen (fi)
• French: utilitaire (fr) m or f, fonctionnel (fr) m, fonctionnelle (fr) f
• German: zweckmäßig (de)
• Greek: πρακτικός (el) m (praktikós), λειτουργικός (el) m (leitourgikós)
• Hebrew: תועלתי (toalti)
• Irish: fóntaíoch
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: utilitaristisk

• Polish: funkcjonalny (pl)
• Russian: утилита́рный (ru) (utilitárnyj)

Noun

utilitarian (plural utilitarians)

1. Someone who practices or advocates utilitarianism.
   • 2023 October 11, David Yaffe-Bellany, Matthew Goldstein, J. Edward Moreno, “Caroline Ellison Says She and Sam Bankman-Fried Lied for Years”, in The New York Times‎^[1], →ISSN:

     Before his companies collapsed, Mr. Bankman-Fried often described himself as a utilitarian — meaning that he made decisions designed to advance the greater good.

Derived terms

• futilitarian
• negative utilitarian
• utilitarianism
• utilitarianly

Translations

Someone who practices or advocates utilitarianism.

• Bulgarian: утилитарист m (utilitarist)
• Catalan: utilitari (ca) m, utilitària (ca) f
• Danish: utilitarist (da) c
• Dutch: utilist m
• Finnish: utilitaristi
• French: utilitariste (fr) m or f
• German: Utilitarist (de) m
• Greek: ωφελιμιστής (el) m (ofelimistís), ωφελιμίστρια (el) f (ofelimístria)
• Irish: fóntaí m
• Japanese: please add this translation if you can
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: utilitarist m

• Polish: utylitarysta m, utylitarystka f
• Portuguese: utilitarista (pt)
• Romanian: utilitarist (ro) m, utilitaristă (ro) f
• Russian: please add this translation if you can
• Spanish: please add this translation if you can
• Swedish: utilitarist (sv) c

Further reading

• "utilitarian" in Raymond Williams, Keywords (revised), 1983, Fontana Press, page 327.
• “utilitarian”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.