vegetarianism

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

Attested since circa 1847, when the British Vegetarian Society was founded. From vegetarian + -ism.

A burglar enlarging upon the sanctity of the law of property, or a sheep exposing the fallacies of vegetarianism, could hardly have produced a greater sensation. — Vice Versa; or, A Lesson to Fathers, F. Anstey
And that brought them to vegetarianism and teetotalism, and the young man in the orange tie and Mrs. Goopes had a great set-to about the sincerity of Chesterton and Belloc that was ended by Goopes showing signs of resuming the Socratic method. — Ann Veronica: A Modern Love Story, H. G. (Herbert George) Wells
He tried to lead the conversation away from so unpleasant a subject, and went on to talk rapidly of the values of different foods, of vegetarianism and vegetarians, and of men who had gone for long periods without any food at all. — The Empty House and Other Ghost Stories, Algernon Blackwood

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