Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
Menu
×

An Encyclopædia Britannica Company

Platonism

play
noun Pla·to·nism \ˈplā-tə-ˌni-zəm\

Definition of Platonism

  1. 1a :  the philosophy of Plato stressing especially that actual things are copies of transcendent ideas and that these ideas are the objects of true knowledge apprehended by reminiscenceb :  neoplatonism

  2. 2 :  platonic love

Platonist

play \ˈplā-tə-nist\ noun

Platonistic

play \ˌplā-tə-ˈni-stik\ adjective

Explore M-W

alt-5978a79b75e17
Trending: 'Transgender' Americans Face New Restrictions
video-title-words-of-the-year-1066
Words of the Year: 1066
image1358596246
Words About Word Play
alt-59775cb5d7779
Words We're Watching: 'Aquafaba'

First Known Use of platonism

circa 1570

Learn More about platonism

  1. See words that rhyme with Platonism Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about Platonism

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up Platonism? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show hide

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

WORD OF THE DAY

akimbo

play

set in a bent position

Get Word of the Day daily email!

TRENDING NOW

  1. transgender Trump reverses military policy allowing transgender people to serve

  2. beleaguer 'Being subjected to constant or repeated trouble or harassment'

  3. scaramouch A new White House communications director

  4. non sequitur “It does not follow”

  5. admiral's mast A massive search ends with an 'admiral's mast'.

SEE ALL

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Words at Play

alt-59775cb5d7779
Words We're Watching: 'Aquafaba'

Don't dump out the bean water just yet...

image1358596246
Words About Word Play

Don't just eat your words—play with them!

alt-596f95fe451e7
'Drought' & 'Drouth' Take Us Back In Time

A variant spelling with a long history

alt-59721dd897313
The 'Best' Way to Sign Off On An E-mail

Give them your best

Ask the Editors

video-title-words-of-the-year-1066
Words of the Year: 1066

Or, Why Pig Meat is Called 'Pork' and Cow Meat is Called 'Beef'

payday
How Often Is 'Biweekly'?

Don't get us started on 'bimonthly'

video-irregardless-grammar-peeve-blend-of-the-synonyms-irrespective-and-regardless
Irregardless

It is in fact a real word (but that doesn't mean you should use it).

video-moose-goose-weird-plurals
Weird Plurals

One goose, two geese. One moose, two... moose. What's up with that?

Word Games

emoji-the-quiz
The Emoji Quiz

Think you’re an emoji 👓 expert? Let’s see 🤔

Take the quiz
image941935269
A Game of Thrones Word Quiz

In the Game of Thrones quiz, you learn some new vocabulary. (It’s quite safe, really. You will not die.)

Take the quiz
True or False
True or False?

Test your knowledge - and maybe learn something along the way.

Take the quiz
SCRABBLE® Sprint
SCRABBLE® Sprint

SCRABBLE® fans, sharpen your skills!

Play the game