Meanings
- uncountableThe philosophy or practice of striving to better one's situation in life, especially economically and materially.
"The late '90s had a focus on aspirationalism - more, better, bigger, faster, the McMansion and the huge flat-screen TV," he says.
2011 April 13, “Profile: Mark McCrindle”, in The Sydney Morning Herald2 more examples
We think of America as a familiar place, yet it is in so many ways as incomprehensible to outsiders as it has always been. The boundless aspirationalism even among its most marginalised people is one of its most striking and perplexing anachronisms.
2010 July 13, Mary O'Hara, “It's the people who provide a real insight into US politics”, in The GuardianThe emphasis on heavy spending, coupled with the country's truly astounding, two-generation growth from agrarian poverty to economic powerhouse, have engendered the country with an emphasis on hard work and on aspirationalism, as well as the materialism that can sometimes follow.
2012 August 23, Max Fisher, “Gangnam Style, Dissected: The Subversive Message Within South Korea's Music Video Sensation”, in The Atlantic
Origin
Cite this entry
aspirationalism. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/aspirationalism
“aspirationalism.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/aspirationalism. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “aspirationalism,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/aspirationalism.
Source: aspirationalism on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.