vegetarianism

noun

veg·e·tar·i·an·ism ˌve-jə-ˈter-ē-ə-ˌni-zəm

: the theory or practice of living on a vegetarian diet

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The Difference Between Vegetarian, Vegan, and Other Diets

The word vegetarian sprouted up in 1839. Fruitarian ("a person who lives on fruit") ripened by 1893. In 1944, vegetarians who consume no animal or dairy products began calling themselves vegans. Then, in 1993, those who eat fish but no other meat chose pesce, the Italian word for "fish," to create the designation pescatarian. In that same year, meatatarian was served up as a word for those whose diet largely includes meat; that word is rare, however, and is usually used in informal and humorous ways, making it the type of fare not included in our dictionaries. Another fairly recent dietary word is flexitarian, a person who follows a mostly vegetarian diet but occasionally eats meat or fish.

Examples of vegetarianism in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The results also pointed to 31 other genes associated with vegetarianism as well, though more weakly. —

Katie Mogg, NBC News, 5 Oct. 2023 There are many kinds of vegetarianism, but many folks are reducing the amount of meat in their diets, or cutting it out altogether. —

Katie Workman, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 Sep. 2023 Nevertheless, one friend, an unabashed lover of steak, insisted on telling me repeatedly how joyless vegetarianism was. —

Ligaya Mishan, New York Times, 27 Sep. 2023 Modi, a Hindu nationalist, casts himself as an ascetic who adheres to his religion’s strictures on vegetarianism and yoga. —

Jennifer Peltz, ajc, 21 June 2023 Modi, a Hindu nationalist, presents himself as an ascetic who adheres to his religion’s strictures on vegetarianism and yoga. —

Jennifer Peltz, ajc, 22 June 2023 But that was not the sole moment of gastronomic tragedy brought on by Harrelson’s vegetarianism. —

Vulture, 5 June 2023 For 10 years, Jen maintained a flamboyant Facebook presence, filled with adorable photos of the children, proclamations of Black allyship, and proud endorsements of meditation and vegetarianism. —

Robert Kolker, Washington Post, 10 Mar. 2023 Schwitzgebel suspects the greatest impact came from social influence—classmates or teaching assistants leading the discussions may have shared their own vegetarianism, showing it as achievable or more common. —

Matthew Hutson, Scientific American, 1 Jan. 2021 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'vegetarianism.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.