/ English Dictionary

ATOMISM

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

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

Example:

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

Synonyms:

atomic theory; atomism; atomist theory; atomistic theory

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

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)

Sense 2

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)

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