Meanings
platonist1
plural platonists
- alternativeAlternative form of Platonist.
So attention to Quine and Putnam’s writings is important, not just to set the record straight, but because it reveals some new argumentative strategies for platonists to exploit.
2007 September 28, David Liggins, “Quine, Putnam, and the ‘Quine–Putnam’ Indispensability Argument”, in Erkenntnis, volume 68, number 1, →DOI
Platonist2
plural Platonists
- A member of the philosophical school of thought established by Plato; a believer in Platonism.
[St Augustine of Hippo] became of a Maniche, and of a platoniste a good christian.
1549, Hugh Latimer, The Seconde Sermon... Preached before the Kynges MaiestieSynonyms: Platonician
- One who holds similar beliefs, particularly that abstract ideas are real.
I suspect that in their hearts most working mathematicians are Platonists, in that they take it as a matter of unassailable if unprovable fact that mathematical reality stands apart from the world, and is at least as real as the world, and possibly gives shape to the world, as Plato suggested.
1992 March 2, Richard Preston, “The Mountains of Pi”, in The New Yorker - obsoleterareA platonic lover.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA member of the philosophical school of thought established by Plato; a believer in Platonism.
Origin
- LatinPlatonista
- EnglishPlatonist
From Latin Platonista, from Plato + -ista, equivalent to Plato + -ist.
More words from Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Czech platonik
- platonikfollower of Plato; holder of similar ideas
Finnish platonikko
- platonikkofollower of Plato; holder of similar ideas
Greek Πλατωνίστης
- Πλατωνίστης (Platonístis)follower of Plato; holder of similar ideas
Polish platonik, platończyk
- platonikfollower of Plato; holder of similar ideas
- platończykfollower of Plato; holder of similar ideas
Russian плато́ник
- плато́ник (platónik)follower of Plato; holder of similar ideas
Cite this entry
platonist. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/platonist
“platonist.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/platonist. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “platonist,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/platonist.
Source: platonist on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.