ATOMISM

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does atomism mean? 

• ATOMISM (noun)
  The noun ATOMISM has 2 senses:

1. (psychology) a theory that reduces all mental phenomena to simple elements (sensations and feelings) that form complex ideas by association

2. (chemistry) any theory in which all matter is composed of tiny discrete finite indivisible indestructible particles

  Familiarity information: ATOMISM used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• ATOMISM (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

(psychology) a theory that reduces all mental phenomena to simple elements (sensations and feelings) that form complex ideas by association

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Hypernyms ("atomism" is a kind of...):

scientific theory (a theory that explains scientific observations)

Domain category:

psychological science; psychology (the science of mental life)

Derivation:

atomistic; atomistical (divided into separate and often disparate elements)

Sense 2

Meaning:

(chemistry) any theory in which all matter is composed of tiny discrete finite indivisible indestructible particles

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Synonyms:

atomic theory; atomism; atomist theory; atomistic theory

Context example:

the ancient Greek philosophers Democritus and Epicurus held atomic theories of the universe

Hypernyms ("atomism" is a kind of...):

theory (a well-substantiated explanation of some aspect of the natural world; an organized system of accepted knowledge that applies in a variety of circumstances to explain a specific set of phenomena)

Domain category:

chemical science; chemistry (the science of matter; the branch of the natural sciences dealing with the composition of substances and their properties and reactions)

Antonym:

holism (the theory that the parts of any whole cannot exist and cannot be understood except in their relation to the whole)

Derivation:

atomistic; atomistical (divided into separate and often disparate elements)