as in mercenary
having or marked by interest in material possessions as opposed to intellectual or spiritual things
His essay criticises the materialistic culture of today's world.
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Recent Examples of materialistic
The film is written to the anxious and, yes, materialistic beats of the here and now.
—
David Canfield, HollywoodReporter, 10 Nov. 2025
Which is to say, this isn’t the story of a greedy, materialistic man who suffers a crisis of conscience while trying to pry a priceless treasure away from an uneducated hick who doesn’t know any better.
—David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 29 Oct. 2025
Some of these people spend a lot of money and live incredibly materialistic lives.
—Morgan Housel, CNBC, 7 Oct. 2025
The track pokes fun at consumerism and a materialistic society constantly seeking the next best thing, a theme that remains relevant nearly 45 years later.
—Nour Rahal, Freep.com, 22 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for materialistic
David Canfield, HollywoodReporter, 10 Nov. 2025
Which is to say, this isn’t the story of a greedy, materialistic man who suffers a crisis of conscience while trying to pry a priceless treasure away from an uneducated hick who doesn’t know any better.
—David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 29 Oct. 2025
Some of these people spend a lot of money and live incredibly materialistic lives.
—Morgan Housel, CNBC, 7 Oct. 2025
The track pokes fun at consumerism and a materialistic society constantly seeking the next best thing, a theme that remains relevant nearly 45 years later.
—Nour Rahal, Freep.com, 22 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for materialistic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for materialistic
Adjective
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The Bulls are not adopting the most mercenary mechanisms of tanking.—
Julia Poe,
Chicago Tribune,
27 Feb. 2026
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Dillon will play Chris Adams, who becomes the leader of seven gunslingers determined to protect a group of innocent villagers from a mercenary land baron hellbent on stealing their land.—
Nellie Andreeva,
Deadline,
25 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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In her closing argument, Wanzenberg repeatedly noted that Mahdee received more than 40 stab wounds, and Vargas had three superficial cuts on his arm.—
Clifford Ward,
Chicago Tribune,
7 Mar. 2026
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But all the wounds were superficial.—
Sean Emery,
Oc Register,
5 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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People being selfish, people being greedy, people murdering other people, people kidnapping other people, taking advantage of women, people taking advantage of children, all of this awful stuff.—
Katie Campione,
Deadline,
2 Mar. 2026
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Other teams — notably the Danes, the Italians and the Americans — decided to let the greedier bunch scrap for the same optimum position on the line.—
Andrew Rice,
New York Times,
1 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Materialistic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/materialistic. Accessed 14 Mar. 2026.
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