Materialist
noun
A person who believes material possessions and physical comfort are more important than spiritual values.
He is a hard-headed materialist who values his car more than relationships.
Often appears as...
- hard-headed materialist
- self-professed materialist
noun
A person who believes that material things, not spiritual or intellectual things, can explain the universe.
As a materialist, he argues that consciousness and emotions are simply by-products of the physical processes in our brains.
Often appears as...
- philosophical materialist
- practical materialist
Usage tips
Philosophical
noun
A person who believes material possessions and physical comfort are more important than spiritual values.
He is a hard-headed materialist who values his car more than relationships.
Often appears as...
- hard-headed materialist
- self-professed materialist
noun
A person who believes that material things, not spiritual or intellectual things, can explain the universe.
As a materialist, he argues that consciousness and emotions are simply by-products of the physical processes in our brains.
Often appears as...
- philosophical materialist
- practical materialist
Usage tips
Philosophical
Definition 1 of 2
Pro Tip 1/3Cultural Perspective
In cultures valuing spiritualism, labeling someone a 'materialist' might carry negative connotations.
His wealthy lifestyle and lack of charity work made him seem like a materialist to his community.
Pro Tip 2/3Not just greedy
'Materialist' doesn't simply mean greedy; it emphasizes the preference for material goods over spiritualism.
Despite being wealthy, she isn't a materialist and regularly donates to spiritual causes.
Pro Tip 3/3Nuanced Usage
While 'materialist' can be critical, it can also simply describe someone's lifestyle or worldview without moral judgment.
He's a materialist, focusing on his physical comfort rather than philosophical musings.
Pro Tip 1/3Cultural Perspective
In cultures valuing spiritualism, labeling someone a 'materialist' might carry negative connotations.
His wealthy lifestyle and lack of charity work made him seem like a materialist to his community.
Pro Tip 2/3Not just greedy
'Materialist' doesn't simply mean greedy; it emphasizes the preference for material goods over spiritualism.
Despite being wealthy, she isn't a materialist and regularly donates to spiritual causes.
Pro Tip 3/3Nuanced Usage
While 'materialist' can be critical, it can also simply describe someone's lifestyle or worldview without moral judgment.
He's a materialist, focusing on his physical comfort rather than philosophical musings.
Pro Tip 1/3Cultural Perspective
In cultures valuing spiritualism, labeling someone a 'materialist' might carry negative connotations.
His wealthy lifestyle and lack of charity work made him seem like a materialist to his community.
Pro Tip 2/3Not just greedy
'Materialist' doesn't simply mean greedy; it emphasizes the preference for material goods over spiritualism.
Despite being wealthy, she isn't a materialist and regularly donates to spiritual causes.
Pro Tip 3/3Nuanced Usage
While 'materialist' can be critical, it can also simply describe someone's lifestyle or worldview without moral judgment.
He's a materialist, focusing on his physical comfort rather than philosophical musings.
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Video examples
Nancy Etcoff: Happiness...
as the world becomes safer and we don't have to worry about basic needs being met -- our biological system, whatever motivates us, is being satisfied -- we can rise above them, to think beyond ourselves toward self-actualization or transcendence, and rise above the materialist.
Video examples
The surprising science...
system that whatever motivates us is being satisfied we can rise above them to think beyond ourselves towards self-actualization or transcendence and rise above the materialist so just quickly conclude with some brief data that suggests this might be so one is
Video examples
Nancy Etcoff: Happiness...
as the world becomes safer and we don't have to worry about basic needs being met -- our biological system, whatever motivates us, is being satisfied -- we can rise above them, to think beyond ourselves toward self-actualization or transcendence, and rise above the materialist.
Video examples
The surprising science...
system that whatever motivates us is being satisfied we can rise above them to think beyond ourselves towards self-actualization or transcendence and rise above the materialist so just quickly conclude with some brief data that suggests this might be so one is
Example 1 of 2
Quote examples
Annie Besant
English Philosopher
Science regards man as an aggregation of atoms temporarily united by a mysterious force called the life-principle. To the materialist, the only difference between a living and a dead body is that in the one case that force is active, in the other latent.
Quote examples
Scott Derrickson
American Director
I wasn't born into a religious home, but I was just not a materialist. I didn't believe the material world was all there was or, even, most of what there was. I always felt that I was part of a reality of which the majority was unseen.
Quote examples
A. N. Wilson
English Writer
Watching a whole cluster of friends, and my own mother, die over quite a short space of time convinced me that purely materialist 'explanations' for our mysterious human existence simply won't do - on an intellectual level.
Quote examples
Eric Metaxas
American Author
There was a time when 'science' meant the systematic pursuit of knowledge through experimentation and observation. But it's rapidly becoming a synonym for progressive politics and materialist philosophy.
Quote examples
Michael J. Knowles
American Author
A materialist age makes neurotics of those who measure their life in minutes. Teetotalling totalitarians know the cost of life, but not the value.
Quote examples
Phillip E. Johnson
American Educator
To philosophical materialists God is no more than an idea in the human mind, and not a very important idea.
Quote examples
Wole Soyinka
Nigerian Dramatist
We live in a materialist world, and materialism appeals so strongly to humanity, no matter where.
Quote examples
Malcolm de Chazal
French Writer
The idealist walks on tiptoe, the materialist on his heels.
Quote examples
Christopher Hitchens
American Author
I think the materialist conception of history is valid.
Quote examples
Fidel Castro
Statesman
Sorry, I'm still a dialectical materialist.
Quote examples
Annie Besant
English Philosopher
Science regards man as an aggregation of atoms temporarily united by a mysterious force called the life-principle. To the materialist, the only difference between a living and a dead body is that in the one case that force is active, in the other latent.
Quote examples
Scott Derrickson
American Director
I wasn't born into a religious home, but I was just not a materialist. I didn't believe the material world was all there was or, even, most of what there was. I always felt that I was part of a reality of which the majority was unseen.
Quote examples
A. N. Wilson
English Writer
Watching a whole cluster of friends, and my own mother, die over quite a short space of time convinced me that purely materialist 'explanations' for our mysterious human existence simply won't do - on an intellectual level.
Quote examples
Eric Metaxas
American Author
There was a time when 'science' meant the systematic pursuit of knowledge through experimentation and observation. But it's rapidly becoming a synonym for progressive politics and materialist philosophy.
Quote examples
Michael J. Knowles
American Author
A materialist age makes neurotics of those who measure their life in minutes. Teetotalling totalitarians know the cost of life, but not the value.
Quote examples
Phillip E. Johnson
American Educator
To philosophical materialists God is no more than an idea in the human mind, and not a very important idea.
Quote examples
Wole Soyinka
Nigerian Dramatist
We live in a materialist world, and materialism appeals so strongly to humanity, no matter where.
Quote examples
Malcolm de Chazal
French Writer
The idealist walks on tiptoe, the materialist on his heels.
Quote examples
Christopher Hitchens
American Author
I think the materialist conception of history is valid.
Quote examples
Fidel Castro
Statesman
Sorry, I'm still a dialectical materialist.
Example 1 of 10
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