artificialism
|ar-ti-fi-cial-ism|
🇺🇸
/ˌɑɹtəˈfɪʃəlɪzəm/
🇬🇧
/ˌɑːtɪˈfɪʃ(ə)lɪzəm/
human-made / artificiality
Etymology
'artificialism' originates from Modern English formation by adding the suffix '-ism' to 'artificial'. 'Artificial' comes from Latin 'artificialis' (via Old French 'artificiel'), where the root 'art-' (from Latin 'ars, artis') meant 'skill/art' and 'facere' (in compounds, seen in 'artificium'/'artifex') meant 'to make'.
'artificial' changed from Latin 'artificialis' to Old French 'artificiel' and then to Middle English 'artificial'; later English formed 'artificialism' by combining 'artificial' + '-ism' to denote a doctrine or quality (recorded in modern usage from the 19th century onward).
Initially related to being 'made by skill or craft' (i.e., not natural); over time it acquired broader senses including 'artificiality' and doctrinal/critical senses (the modern noun 'artificialism' denotes either the quality of artificiality or specific doctrines emphasizing artifice).
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
in developmental psychology (Piagetian theory), the cognitive tendency of young children to believe that natural phenomena are created or controlled by people.
Artificialism explains why some children insist that the sun was made by people.
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Noun 2
the quality or state of being artificial; artificiality or contrivance.
The artificialism of the staged scene made the photograph feel stylized rather than authentic.
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Noun 3
an artistic or aesthetic doctrine emphasizing deliberate artifice, stylization, or constructed form (a tendency or movement in art or criticism).
Some critics praised the painter's embrace of artificialism as a bold rejection of realism.
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Noun 4
a philosophical stance (rare) that treats aspects of reality as products of human creation or convention rather than as purely natural.
Debates about social constructs sometimes invoke artificialism to argue that certain institutions are human-made.
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Last updated: 2025/10/24 03:12