commercialism

noun

com·​mer·​cial·​ism kə-ˈmər-shə-ˌli-zəm 

1

: commercial spirit, institutions, or methods

2

: excessive emphasis on profit

commercialist

kə-ˈmər-sh(ə-)list 

noun

commercialistic

kə-ˌmər-shə-ˈli-stik 

adjective

Examples of commercialism in a Sentence

the commercialism of modern society

the increasing commercialism of the Christmas holiday

Recent Examples on the Web

As print and television media fumbled their way online, Gawker used the internet to pull back the curtain on celebrity, mainstream media, politics and creeping commercialism. —Frank Digiacomo, HollywoodReporter, 8 May 2026

This rampant commercialism has taken over our sentimental holidays. —Laura Washington, Chicago Tribune, 6 May 2026

Once tourist fodder, the musical has remained a byword for hokey commercialism. —Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 1 May 2026

German football fans have a deep, entrenched distrust of commercialism and their protests, such as disrupting games by throwing tennis balls onto the pitch, were so sustained that the investor deal was eventually abandoned. —Sebastian Stafford-Bloor, New York Times, 28 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1849, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for commercialism

• activism
• albinism
• altruism
• aneurism
• animism
• aphorism
• atomism
• barbarism
• bolshevism
• botulism
• brahmanism
• calvinism