conceptionism

C3O1N1C3E1P3T1I1O1N1I1S1M3

noun

The belief that the extension of a concept or term is determined by some aspect of the speaker's conception of its extension.

OriginEnglish conception ← Middle English concepcioun ← Old French conception →
Scrabble 21
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nounconceptionism (uncountable)
  1. uncountablehuman sciencesThe belief that the extension of a concept or term is determined by some aspect of the speaker's conception of its extension.
  2. uncountableThe belief that life begins at conception, and thus all abortion is murder.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*ḱe?
  2. Proto-Indo-European*ḱóm
  3. Proto-Italic*kom
  4. Proto-Italic*kom-
  5. Latincon-
  6. Proto-Indo-European*kap-
  7. Proto-Indo-European*kapyéti
  8. Proto-Italic*kapjō
  9. Latincapiō
  10. Ancient Greekσῠλλᾰμβᾰ́νω (sŭllămbắnō)
  11. Latinconcipiō
  12. Latinconceptiō
  13. Old Frenchconception
  14. Middle Englishconcepcioun
  15. Englishconception
  16. Englishconceptionism

From conception + -ism. In the philosophical sense, introduced by Ruth Millikan.

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

misconception
Cite this entry
APA

conceptionism. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/conceptionism

MLA

“conceptionism.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/conceptionism. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “conceptionism,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/conceptionism.

Source: conceptionism on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.