as in idealism
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Recent Examples of meliorism
Under their malign sway, as cost-benefit analysis became codified in government bureaus and standards of jurisprudence, previously bold Democrats reduced their dreams for betterment to feeble meliorism.
—
Idrees Kahloon, The New Yorker, 16 May 2022
Goodhart reckons the positional nature of status — man’s envy plays a part in this puzzle, mind you — and the kind of economic meliorism that the center-left of his formative years applies to income inequality may fail to do the trick this time.
—Jorge González-Gallarza Hernández, National Review, 6 Dec. 2020
To its critics, this modesty and meliorism represent cowardice.
—Rosa Inocencio Smith, The Atlantic, 10 Aug. 2017
Idrees Kahloon, The New Yorker, 16 May 2022
Goodhart reckons the positional nature of status — man’s envy plays a part in this puzzle, mind you — and the kind of economic meliorism that the center-left of his formative years applies to income inequality may fail to do the trick this time.
—Jorge González-Gallarza Hernández, National Review, 6 Dec. 2020
To its critics, this modesty and meliorism represent cowardice.
—Rosa Inocencio Smith, The Atlantic, 10 Aug. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for meliorism
idealism
Noun
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Mclusky were always rooted more in bile than hormones, contempt and wit over quick-burn idealism.—
Alex Robert Ross,
Pitchfork,
25 Mar. 2026
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The mayor’s turnaround on the issue highlights the difficulty between the idealism of Mamdani’s campaign and the difficulties of governance.—
Josephine Stratman,
New York Daily News,
25 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Meliorism.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/meliorism. Accessed 1 Apr. 2026.
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