pacifism

noun

pac·​i·​fism ˈpa-sə-ˌfi-zəm 

1

: opposition to war or violence as a means of settling disputes

specifically : refusal to bear arms on moral or religious grounds

For Quakers pacifism is a major tenet of belief.

2

: an attitude or policy of nonresistance

efforts toward pacifism and civil rights

Examples of pacifism in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Wells, a Fabian socialist like George Bernard Shaw, wrote a speculative treatise that predicted the ecology movement, the arms race, socialist pacifism, and WWII. —Armond White, National Review, 9 Oct. 2024

Their founding leader, an Englishwoman named Ann Lee, preached Quaker ideals, like pacifism and gender equality, but added collective ownership, a work ethic to embarrass Balzac, and, trickiest of all for a utopia trying to grow, celibacy. —Jackson Arn, The New Yorker, 7 Oct. 2024

China test-fires ICBM with 'dummy' warhead, after Biden touts US relationship with Japan, South Korea The decision to send the Sazanami through the strait is significant given Japan’s decades of post-war pacifism. —Anthony Trotter, ABC News, 25 Sep. 2024

Gaines the younger had more than laughs and frights on his mind, however; woven into EC Comics were progressive ideals around racial equality, pacifism, environmentalism and the existential nuclear-age dread rarely spoken of in the placid, conformist 1950s. —Patrick Sauer, Smithsonian Magazine, 17 Sep. 2024

Word History

Etymology

French pacifisme, from pacifique pacific

First Known Use

1902, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

pacifism

noun

pac·​i·​fism ˈpas-ə-ˌfiz-əm 

: opposition to war or violence as a means of settling disputes

pacifist

-fəst 

noun