hedonism

noun he·do·nism \ ˈhē-də-ˌni-zəm \

Updated on: 12 Apr 2018

Definition of hedonism

1 : the doctrine that pleasure or happiness is the sole or chief good in life

2 : a way of life based on or suggesting the principles of hedonism

she was a perfect specimen of selfish hedonism
—Donald Armstrong

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hedonist

play \ˈhē-də-nist\ noun

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hedonistic

play \ˌhē-də-ˈni-stik\ adjective

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hedonistically

play \ˌhē-də-ˈni-sti-k(ə-)lē\ adverb

See hedonism defined for English-language learners

Examples of hedonism in a Sentence

their spring break trip to Mexico became an exercise in heedless hedonism

Recent Examples of hedonism from the Web

While Amsterdam’s red light district is a rowdy cheering squad of hedonism, Haarlem’s is a quiet little cobbled zone where people remember their polite words and no one dares even litter.

— rick steves, miamiherald, "Easing into the Netherlands with pickled herring and a polite red-light district | Miami Herald," 29 Mar. 2018
Scripture commands Christians to behave in ways that reflect God, not man, but the president’s evangelical supporters are celebrating a repeat adulterer who embodies American hedonism where pleasure and happiness are the highest goods.

— erick erickson, Washington Post, "A word too far? Some evangelicals may have reached the breaking point with Trump.," 19 Jan. 2018
The 20th century’s foremost advocate for pop Satanism was Anton LaVey, who spent the 1970s drawing attention to his own unique brand of media-friendly Satan worship, focusing largely on the worthiness of hedonism.

— OregonLive.com, "How the 'Satanic Panic' shaped 1980s Oregon, sparking 'repressed memory' claims and murder," 13 Feb. 2018
Evangelical leaders have also long preached about the decay of Traditional Family Values in America, eroded by secular liberals who embrace unbridled hedonism and vice.

— jack holmes, Esquire, "How Evangelical Leaders Are Responding to the Stormy Daniels Story," 26 Jan. 2018
Employees and a choice few patrons recall the excitement of opening night — being drawn through the lobby toward what soon became Manhattan's hub of anything-goes hedonism.

— john defore, The Hollywood Reporter, "'Studio 54': Film Review | Sundance 2018," 23 Jan. 2018
Still, Biig can’t match the hedonism of Cold Drinks , the Scotch bar at China Live conceived (and since abandoned) by veteran bartender Duggan McDonnell.

— esther mobley, San Francisco Chronicle, "The Bay Area’s best new bars of 2017," 26 Dec. 2017
The nation's current obsession with gourmet-level food has an undercurrent of sensuality and hedonism, making restaurants stand apart from offices and factories.

— zlati meyer, USA TODAY, "5 reasons why restaurants can be hotbeds of sexual harassment," 18 Dec. 2017
Today there are multiple views on what hedonism is.

— desiree kozlowski, CNN, "Hedonism is good for your health," 12 Sep. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'hedonism.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

The Modern Definition of hedonism

When hedonism first appeared in English in the middle of the 19th century, it referred to the doctrines of certain schools of philosophy in ancient Greece (such as the Epicureans and Cyrenaics), who held that happiness or pleasure constituted the chief goal in life. As used today, the word frequently carries a judgmental tinge. If someone is described as living a life of hedonism, the implication is that he or she derives happiness from debauchery rather than, say, spending quality time with family or forming meaningful relationships at work. Hedonism comes from the Greek hēdonē (“pleasure”), which also provides the root of the word anhedonia (“a psychological condition characterized by inability to experience pleasure in normally pleasurable acts”).