epicureanism

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Epicureanism^¹

/ˌɛpɪˈkju(ə)ɹiənɪzəm/

Where it comes from

From Epicurean + -ism. As a pejorative synonym of atheism, both from the philosophy's rejection of deontological morality and from Epicurus's specific belief that the Greek gods—if they did exist—did not concern themselves at all with mankind, its actions, or any system of reward or punishment for them. Doublet of epicurism.

noun Epicureanisms · epicureanism

uncountable, usually The philosophical belief that pleasure is the highest good, particularly as advocated by Epicurus with a focus on mental pleasures and on avoidance of pain (ataraxia) through moderation and common virtue.
proscribed, sometimes, uncountable, usually Synonym of hedonism, general pursuit of pleasure, particularly refined and knowledgeable enjoyment of good food, drink, and similar sensual pleasures.
Similar: hedonism, general pursuit of pleasure, particularly refined and knowledgeable enjoyment of good food, drink, and similar sensual pleasures
obsolete, uncountable, usually Synonym of atheism.
Similar: atheism

Similar: epicurism

epicureanism^²

noun

uncountable Alternative letter-case form of Epicureanism (general pursuit of pleasure).

Thesaurus

noun

Similar: epicurism

Translations

Every language

noun system of philosophy based upon the teachings of Epicurus

Español	epicureísmo
日本語	快楽主義 kairaku-syugi
Português	epicurismo
Français	épicurisme, épicuréisme
Русский	эпикуре́йство epikuréjstvo

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MLA

"epicureanism." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/epicureanism. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

epicureanism. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/epicureanism

Chicago

"epicureanism." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/epicureanism.

BibTeX

@misc{epicureanism_2026,
  title = {epicureanism},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/epicureanism},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}