operationalism

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noun

A philosophy that attempts to define all scientific concepts in terms of specified operations or procedures of observation and measurement.

OriginEnglish operational ← Proto-Indo-European *h₂élisder.? ← Middle English operacioun →
Scrabble 18
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Meanings

nounoperationalism (countable and uncountable, plural operationalisms)

plural operationalisms

  1. countableuncountablesciencesA philosophy that attempts to define all scientific concepts in terms of specified operations or procedures of observation and measurement.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₃ep-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*h₃épos
  3. Proto-Italic*opos
  4. Latinopus
  5. Latinopera
  6. Latinoperātusbf.
  7. Latinoperor
  8. Latinoperātiō
  9. Old Frenchoperacion
  10. Middle Englishoperacioun
  11. Englishoperation
  12. Proto-Indo-European*h₂el-
  13. Proto-Indo-European*h₂élisder.?
  14. Englishoperational
  15. Englishoperationalism

From operational + -ism.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Finnish operationalismi
  • operationalismiphilosophy
Polish operacjonalizm
  • operacjonalizmphilosophy
Russian операционализм
  • операционализм (operacionalizm)philosophy
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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