communitarian

adjective

com·​mu·​ni·​tar·​i·​an kə-ˌmyü-nə-ˈter-ē-ən 

: of or relating to social organization in small cooperative partially collectivist communities

communitarian noun

communitarianism

kə-ˌmyü-nə-ˈter-ē-ə-ˌni-zəm 

noun

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web

The choice seems to be made in particular by individuals affiliated with strongly communitarian religious groups. —Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 21 Oct. 2010

American culture has always been at once strongly libertarian, individualist and pluralist, yet also strongly communitarian, moralist and religious. —Christopher Demuth, WSJ, 18 Nov. 2022

This benign and even communitarian version of slave culture was by no means confined to historians born and bred in the South. —Andrew Delbanco, The New York Review of Books, 8 June 2022

The communitarian ideals of radical women’s groups faded from public memory, and feminism was glossed as a movement for female careers. —Elaine Blair, The New York Review of Books, 7 Sep. 2022

In this light, the Puritans should be seen as astute progenitors of a generous and communitarian strain of American politics—one that is sorely needed today. —Harper’s Magazine , 28 Sep. 2022

Goldin, an economist, documents but offers no prescription, while journalist Jaffe’s final chapter points us toward a more communitarian system in which our love is not co-opted by capitalism and where all have leisure time. —Hanna Hart, Forbes, 2 June 2022

After all, in the crisis of a pandemic, answers can only be found expeditiously if people -- be it for selfish or communitarian reasons -- are willing to roll up their sleeves and contribute to the public good. —Kent Sepkowitz, CNN, 3 Apr. 2022

The dynamic, communitarian version shut down in 2009, part of an effort by Berkeley to formalize the center and comply with federal regulations. —Isabella Cueto, STAT, 28 Mar. 2022

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Word History

First Known Use

1840, in the meaning defined above