stoic
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About Our Definitions: All forms of a word (noun, verb, etc.) are now displayed on one page.1sto·ic
noun \ˈstō-ik\Definition of STOIC
1
capitalized : a member of a school of philosophy founded by Zeno of Citium about 300 b.c. holding that the wise man should be free from passion, unmoved by joy or grief, and submissive to natural law
2
: one apparently or professedly indifferent to pleasure or pain
See Examples of STOIC
- “That would have been to dishonor him,” said Carr, a notorious stoic who was nearly overcome by emotion in his postgame press conference. Instead, he told the Wolverines that the best way to honor Schembechler was “to play in a way that would have made him proud.” —Austin Murphy, Sports Illustrated, 27 Nov. 2006
- The philosophical implications of this claim are as volcanic as the emotions it depicts, for Nussbaum here counters an age-old view espoused by Stoics, Christians and Kantians, alike: emotions are disruptive and subversive to reason, they arise from parochial needs and interests and therefore the life well lived is the life in which the things of this world are left behind for a higher sphere beyond accident, pain and desire. —Wendy Steiner, New York Times Book Review, 18 Nov. 2001
- Whereas Ludwig Wittgenstein once compared philosophers to garbage men sweeping the mind clean of wrongheaded concepts, Nussbaum believes they should be “lawyers for humanity”—a phrase she borrows from Seneca, her favorite Stoic thinker. —Robert S. Boynton, New York Times Magazine, 21 Nov. 1999
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Origin of STOIC
Middle English, from Latin stoicus, from Greek stōïkos, literally, of the portico, from Stoa (Poikilē) the Painted Portico, portico at Athens where Zeno taught
First Known Use: 14th century
Other Philosophy Terms
2sto·ic
adjective \ˈstō-ik\Definition of STOIC
1
capitalized : of, relating to, or resembling the Stoics (see 1stoic) or their doctrines <Stoic logic>
2
: not affected by or showing passion or feeling; especially : firmly restraining response to pain or distress <a stoic indifference to cold>
— sto·ical·ly \-i-k(ə-)lē\ adverb
Variants of STOIC
sto·ic or sto·i·cal \-i-kəl\
Examples of STOIC
- He had a stoic expression on his face.
- <after waiting six years for permission to immigrate to the U.S., the family is stoic about a six-month postponement>
- My stoic Serbian brother-in-law, Aleksandar Vasilic, gave me the ultimate confidence booster of bawling all the way through the manuscript when I gave it to him to read. —Helene Cooper, The House At Sugar Beach, (2008) 2009
- Grant recorded his thought-experiment when he was an old man dying of cancer, who in spite of his pain had managed to achieve a stoical serenity. —Jackson Lears, New Republic, 9 & 16 Sept. 2002
- As it flew past the pole, a three-run homer, Richardson saw the stoical Berra do something he'd never seen him do. “Halfway between home and first, he was jumping up and down,” Richardson recalls. “Boy, was he happy to hit that ball!” —William Nack, Sports Illustrated, 23 Oct. 2000
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Origin of STOIC
(see 1stoic)
First Known Use: 15th century
Related to STOIC
- Synonyms
- forbearing, long-suffering, patient (or stoical), tolerant, uncomplaining
- Antonyms
- complaining, fed up, impatient, kvetching, kvetchy, protesting
See Synonym Discussion at impassive
Other Philosophy Terms
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