Hobbesian
adjective
Hobbes·ian
ˈhäb-zē-ən 
Examples of Hobbesian in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The site demonstrated, before many people realized it, that the internet existed fundamentally in a Hobbesian state of nature, hosting a war of all against all.
—
Kyle Chayka, New Yorker, 30 Apr. 2025
In their place, a more Hobbesian vision of society has emerged in which each person’s only obligation is to their own tribe.
—Matthew Scogin, Forbes, 15 Mar. 2025
Robin Waterfield’s Aesop’s Fables: A New Translation (Basic Books, $30) renders them in all their feral, fatalistic glory—bursts of Hobbesian asperity with dubious, sometimes conflicting, morals.
—Andrew Cockburn, Harper's Magazine, 22 Aug. 2024
And rather than seeing the peaceful, democratic flowering of a people freed of tyrannical rule, Iraq instead sank into a Hobbesian nightmare in which ever-smaller groups fought each other for ever-smaller bits of territory.
—David Petraeus, Foreign Affairs, 17 June 2024
But Dot and her family suggest that life isn’t always a Hobbesian struggle between the weak and the strong.
—Keith Phipps, Vulture, 16 Jan. 2024
The series features epic wars among clans of feral cats who inhabit a Hobbesian world.
—Simon Montlake, The Christian Science Monitor, 9 Apr. 2024
These early thinkers fought to make Hobbesian authoritarianism impossible by establishing the rule of law and constitutionally limited government, with safeguards in place to protect individual freedoms.
—Helena Rosenblatt, Foreign Affairs, 20 Feb. 2024
The enemies of the unnatural liberal order that the Western world carved out of the tribal wilderness are united in their effort to thrust us back into the Hobbesian state of nature.
—Daniel Foster, National Review, 30 Nov. 2023
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Kyle Chayka, New Yorker, 30 Apr. 2025
In their place, a more Hobbesian vision of society has emerged in which each person’s only obligation is to their own tribe.
—Matthew Scogin, Forbes, 15 Mar. 2025
Robin Waterfield’s Aesop’s Fables: A New Translation (Basic Books, $30) renders them in all their feral, fatalistic glory—bursts of Hobbesian asperity with dubious, sometimes conflicting, morals.
—Andrew Cockburn, Harper's Magazine, 22 Aug. 2024
And rather than seeing the peaceful, democratic flowering of a people freed of tyrannical rule, Iraq instead sank into a Hobbesian nightmare in which ever-smaller groups fought each other for ever-smaller bits of territory.
—David Petraeus, Foreign Affairs, 17 June 2024
But Dot and her family suggest that life isn’t always a Hobbesian struggle between the weak and the strong.
—Keith Phipps, Vulture, 16 Jan. 2024
The series features epic wars among clans of feral cats who inhabit a Hobbesian world.
—Simon Montlake, The Christian Science Monitor, 9 Apr. 2024
These early thinkers fought to make Hobbesian authoritarianism impossible by establishing the rule of law and constitutionally limited government, with safeguards in place to protect individual freedoms.
—Helena Rosenblatt, Foreign Affairs, 20 Feb. 2024
The enemies of the unnatural liberal order that the Western world carved out of the tribal wilderness are united in their effort to thrust us back into the Hobbesian state of nature.
—Daniel Foster, National Review, 30 Nov. 2023
Cite this Entry
“Hobbesian.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Hobbesian. Accessed 6 May. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share