materialism

Definition of materialismnext

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of materialism Beverly Keel once published an article in The Tennessean that was a letter asking Santa to help our culture move beyond materialism and consumerism to the deeper meaning of Christmas. Clay Stauffer, Nashville Tennessean, 25 Dec. 2025 Loosely based on the real lives of Florida real estate baron David Siegel (F. Murray Abraham) and his much-younger wife Jackie (Chenoweth), the play aims to make a commentary about the dangers of a dogged pursuit of wealth and materialism. Anna Kaufman, USA Today, 25 Nov. 2025 Still, some did criticize the woman’s response, accusing her of materialism or entitlement, while mentioning that in general men are less likely to receive gifts upwards of $800 from their partners. Melissa Fleur Afshar, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Nov. 2025 Jeff Manchester might have been a folk hero of the early 2000s, but his story resonates even more today, with wealth inequality and performative materialism higher than ever. Katie Walsh, Twin Cities, 11 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for materialism
Recent Examples of Synonyms for materialism
Noun
  • These firms now pay their rainmakers like Wall Street stars and have dropped their courtly scruples for relentless commercialism.
    Liz Hoffman, semafor.com, 5 Feb. 2026
  • Ironically, the film was about the dangers of commercialism, and the director reportedly added a long bedroom scene near the beginning displaying the actress’ nude backside to appease producers’ demands for more flesh.
    Lee Smith, CNN Money, 28 Dec. 2025
Noun
  • They are fueled by hatred, greed and corruption and do not care about America or what is good for it.
    Voice of the People, New York Daily News, 27 Feb. 2026
  • Shot locally in Los Angeles and based on an original idea by Nicholas Geisler (Bunk’d), who here made his feature directorial debut, Gulf of America follows a family who inherits a decaying desert motel, triggering an inescapable descent into greed, psychosis, and terror.
    Matt Grobar, Deadline, 24 Feb. 2026
Noun
  • There’s a touch of possessiveness that comes out when Eloise refers to Sophie as her lady’s maid.
    Arushi Jacob, Variety, 31 Jan. 2026
  • In the film, Brack’s attraction to Hedda, investment in her material future, and his familiarity with her father are all underlined, and by the end feel like a mounting pressure of desire and possessiveness directed at her.
    Rory Doherty, Time, 29 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • In a world where most sports have a shady underbelly and the fixes often are in one way or another, no one is ever going to tell you that boxing of all competitions is an avarice or sticky-fingers-free zone.
    Dominic Patten, Deadline, 3 Feb. 2026
  • But the damage this episode of Europe-bashing and open colonial avarice has done is real and enduring.
    Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Money, 21 Jan. 2026
Noun
  • Following too closely in its protagonist’s footsteps, The Queen of Versailles presents only two options — tough but spiritually fulfilling material deprivation or unconstrained acquisitiveness.
    Sara Holdren, Vulture, 10 Nov. 2025
Noun
  • People in the comments shared in the woman’s frustration, agreeing that her mother's greediness needs to be addressed.
    Meredith Wilshere, PEOPLE, 5 Oct. 2025
  • When kids didn’t withdraw, it was sometimes seen as greediness.
    Mary Frances Ruskell, CNN Money, 15 Aug. 2025
Noun
  • Whether through invasion, subversion, or transaction, the stories of new conquests are always lit by moments of deviltry, cupidity, violence, and farce.
    Washington Post, Washington Post, 27 Jan. 2026
  • Sarah Wynn-Williams’s damning memoir of working at Facebook exposes the predatory cupidity of the company’s executives.
    Rachel Nolan, The New York Review of Books, 9 May 2025
Noun
  • Unlike the specialized literary magazine and its informal cousin, the literary blog, the general-interest newspaper has a kind of noble rapacity, an encyclopedic ambition to wrap its arms around the whole of the world.
    Becca Rothfeld, New Yorker, 10 Feb. 2026
  • Trump’s entire doctrine is naked rapacity, from Venezuela to hijacking the Kennedy Center to hideously remaking the White House in his own gaudy image.
    Maureen Dowd, Mercury News, 21 Jan. 2026

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Materialism.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/materialism. Accessed 5 Mar. 2026.

More from Merriam-Webster on materialism

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster