textualism
noun
tex·tu·al·ism
ˈteks-chə-wə-ˌli-zəm 
-chə-ˌli-zəm
: strict or rigid adherence to a text (such as the text of the Scriptures)
specifically, US law
: a legal philosophy that laws and legal documents (such as the U.S. Constitution) should be interpreted by considering only the words used in the law or document as they are commonly understood
Justice Scalia of the United States Supreme Court has championed an approach called textualism. Scalia and others argue that legislative history should rarely be relevant, in essence advocating sentence meaning over speaker's meaning. To be more exact, textualism claims that it does try to discover the intent of the legislature, but limits this inquiry to the text of the statute itself. —
Peter M. Tiersma
compare originalism
Peter M. Tiersma
textualist
noun
plural textualists
Textualists focus on the meaning of words and eschew more abstract inquiries about the law's purposes.
—Marc O. DeGirolami
Marc O. DeGirolami
Examples of textualism in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
As Breyer points out, a majority of the Court now subscribes to the interpretive methods known as textualism and originalism.
—Louis Menand, The New Yorker, 8 Apr. 2024
Well, look, there's a long and proud history of textualism.
—Nbc Universal, NBC News, 24 Mar. 2024
The takeaway is that textualism is killing common-sense statutory interpretation.
—Noah Feldman, The Mercury News, 9 Mar. 2024
The courts have grown much more rigorous in doing so since the mid 1980s, under the influence of Justice Antonin Scalia’s advocacy for textualism.
—The Editors, National Review, 18 Jan. 2024
On the Supreme Court, Justice Gorsuch has embraced his predecessor’s interpretive methodologies of originalism, which looks to the meaning of the Constitution when it was adopted, and textualism, which focuses on the words of federal statutes.
—Adam Liptak, New York Times, 15 June 2023
In different but complementary ways, the two justices argued that Alito’s adherence to textualism is a sham.
—Matt Ford, The New Republic, 25 May 2023
Proponents of originalism and textualism often describe those schools of jurisprudence as the one true way to interpret the Constitution or to read federal laws, respectively—a rhetorical trick that renders all alternative approaches illicit by default.
—Matt Ford, The New Republic, 10 May 2023
Anita Krishnakumar, a Georgetown University law professor, also noted on a legal blog that both the majority opinion and Justice Neil Gorsuch’s concurring opinion run counter to many of the principles of textualism, the method of reading federal laws that conservatives have championed.
—Matt Ford, The New Republic, 24 Jan. 2022
Louis Menand, The New Yorker, 8 Apr. 2024
Well, look, there's a long and proud history of textualism.
—Nbc Universal, NBC News, 24 Mar. 2024
The takeaway is that textualism is killing common-sense statutory interpretation.
—Noah Feldman, The Mercury News, 9 Mar. 2024
The courts have grown much more rigorous in doing so since the mid 1980s, under the influence of Justice Antonin Scalia’s advocacy for textualism.
—The Editors, National Review, 18 Jan. 2024
On the Supreme Court, Justice Gorsuch has embraced his predecessor’s interpretive methodologies of originalism, which looks to the meaning of the Constitution when it was adopted, and textualism, which focuses on the words of federal statutes.
—Adam Liptak, New York Times, 15 June 2023
In different but complementary ways, the two justices argued that Alito’s adherence to textualism is a sham.
—Matt Ford, The New Republic, 25 May 2023
Proponents of originalism and textualism often describe those schools of jurisprudence as the one true way to interpret the Constitution or to read federal laws, respectively—a rhetorical trick that renders all alternative approaches illicit by default.
—Matt Ford, The New Republic, 10 May 2023
Anita Krishnakumar, a Georgetown University law professor, also noted on a legal blog that both the majority opinion and Justice Neil Gorsuch’s concurring opinion run counter to many of the principles of textualism, the method of reading federal laws that conservatives have championed.
—Matt Ford, The New Republic, 24 Jan. 2022
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'textualism.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near textualism
Cite this Entry
“Textualism.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/textualism. Accessed 23 Apr. 2024.
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