ma‧te‧ri‧al‧is‧m /məˈtɪəriəlɪzəm $ -ˈtɪr-/ noun [uncountable]
[Word Family: noun: material, materialism, materialist, MATERIALS, materialization; adjective: material, immaterial, materialistic, materialist; adverb: materialistically, materially; verb: materialize]

1. the belief that money and possessions are more important than art, religion, moral beliefs etc – used in order to show disapproval:
a reaction to a world full of shallow materialism

2. the belief that only physical things really exist
—materialist adjective:
materialist philosophy
—materialist noun [countable]:
We confess to being hopeless materialists, surrounded by our own neat stuff.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲