meliorism

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun the belief that the world can be made better by human effort

Etymology

From Latin melior (“better”) + -ism. Reportedly coined by British author George Eliot in her letters, published in 1877.

In classic literature

A single word — an entire dictionary opens.

Type a word, a sentence, a book title, or a link to an English article. WordNet and the Classics answer.

Try

A library of classics · a vault of words · instant etymology & meaning

Continue reading