Meanings
plural pacifisms
- The support of peace, specifically:
- countableuncountableThe conviction that it is morally wrong to settle disputes (especially between countries) by war or other violent means.First known use c. 1900
I am not only a pacifist but a militant pacifist. I am willing to fight for peace. Nothing will end war unless the people themselves refuse to go to war.
1931, Albert Einstein, (famous quote)1 more example
The individual pacifist (who may or may not follow a particular religion) can for example support voluntary euthanasia while at the same time retaining a consistent view about how to approach issues surrounding violent conflict and the common good. Although such issues raise complex ethical dilemmas, for some, pacifism can accomodate^([sic]) the possibility of killing in certain circumstances.
2023, Mike DeSousa, “Defining Pacifism”, in Active Pacifist - countableuncountableThe ethical avoidance of inflicting harm on others in one's daily life.
1 more example
Pacifism forbids us from killing would-be murderers in self-defense, but terrorism permits us to slit the throat of a 17-year-old working a night shift at the zoo.[…]Pacifism also has the modal implication that no possible wrongful aggressor can be permissibly harmed, even in possible worlds where doing so is the only feasible means of saving oneself or others.
2018, Blake Hereth, “Animal Rights Terrorism and Pacifism”, in American Philosophical AssociationSynonyms: ahimsa, nonkilling
- countableuncountableThe combination of the above two philosophical viewpoints.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounThe ethical avoidance of inflicting harm on others in one's daily life.
nounThe additional challenge of winning a game without harming any enemy characters.
antonym(s) of “peaceful doctrine”
More synonyms by meaning
nounthe doctrine that all violence is unjustifiable
nounthe belief that all international disputes can be settled by arbitration
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
Translations
Arabic سَلَامِيَّة, سِلْمِيَّة
- سَلَامِيَّة (salāmiyya)doctrine that disputes should be settled without violence
- سِلْمِيَّة (silmiyya)doctrine that disputes should be settled without violence
Bengali শান্তিবাদ
- শান্তিবাদ (śantibad)doctrine that disputes should be settled without violence
Bulgarian пацифи́зъм
- пацифи́зъм (pacifízăm)doctrine that disputes should be settled without violence
Catalan pacifisme
- pacifismedoctrine that disputes should be settled without violence
Chinese Mandarin 和平主義 /和平主义
- 和平主義 /和平主义 (hépíngzhǔyì)doctrine that disputes should be settled without violence
Czech pacifismus
- pacifismusdoctrine that disputes should be settled without violence
Danish pacifisme
- pacifismedoctrine that disputes should be settled without violence
Dutch pacifisme
- pacifismedoctrine that disputes should be settled without violence
Esperanto pacismo
- pacismodoctrine that disputes should be settled without violence
Estonian patsifism
- patsifismdoctrine that disputes should be settled without violence
Finnish pasifismi, rauhanaate
- pasifismidoctrine that disputes should be settled without violence
- rauhanaatedoctrine that disputes should be settled without violence
French pacifisme
- pacifismedoctrine that disputes should be settled without violence
German Pazifismus
- Pazifismusdoctrine that disputes should be settled without violence
Greek ειρηνισμός, πασιφισμός
- ειρηνισμός (eirinismós)doctrine that disputes should be settled without violence
- πασιφισμός (pasifismós)doctrine that disputes should be settled without violence
Hebrew פָּצִיפִיזְם
- פָּצִיפִיזְם (patsifízm)doctrine that disputes should be settled without violence
Hindi शान्तिवाद, शांतिवाद
- शान्तिवाद (śāntivād)doctrine that disputes should be settled without violence
- शांतिवाद (śāntivād)doctrine that disputes should be settled without violence
Hungarian pacifizmus
- pacifizmusdoctrine that disputes should be settled without violence
Irish síochánachas
- síochánachasdoctrine that disputes should be settled without violence
Italian pacifismo
- pacifismodoctrine that disputes should be settled without violence
Japanese 平和主義
- 平和主義 (heiwashugi)doctrine that disputes should be settled without violence
Korean 평화주의
- 평화주의 (pyeonghwajuui)doctrine that disputes should be settled without violence
Latvian pacifisms
- pacifismsdoctrine that disputes should be settled without violence
Lithuanian pacifizmas
- pacifizmasdoctrine that disputes should be settled without violence
Malay faham pententeraman, pasifisme
- faham pententeramandoctrine that disputes should be settled without violence
- pasifismedoctrine that disputes should be settled without violence
Norwegian Bokmål pasifisme
- pasifismedoctrine that disputes should be settled without violence
Persian صلحجویی, صلحطلبی
- صلحجویی (solh-juyi)doctrine that disputes should be settled without violence
- صلحطلبی (solh-talabi)doctrine that disputes should be settled without violence
Polish pacyfizm
- pacyfizmdoctrine that disputes should be settled without violence
Portuguese pacifismo
- pacifismodoctrine that disputes should be settled without violence
Romanian pacifism
- pacifismdoctrine that disputes should be settled without violence
Russian пацифи́зм
- пацифи́зм (pacifízm)doctrine that disputes should be settled without violence
Slovak pacifizmus
- pacifizmusdoctrine that disputes should be settled without violence
Spanish pacifismo
- pacifismodoctrine that disputes should be settled without violence
Swedish pacifism
- pacifismdoctrine that disputes should be settled without violence
Tagalog pasipismo
- pasipismodoctrine that disputes should be settled without violence
Thai สันตินิยม
- สันตินิยม (sǎn-dtì-ní-yom)doctrine that disputes should be settled without violence
Turkish pasifizm
- pasifizmdoctrine that disputes should be settled without violence
Ukrainian пацифі́зм
- пацифі́зм (pacyfízm)doctrine that disputes should be settled without violence
Urdu اَمْن پَسَنْدی
- اَمْن پَسَنْدی (amn-pasandī)doctrine that disputes should be settled without violence
Vietnamese chủ nghĩa hoà bình
- chủ nghĩa hoà bìnhdoctrine that disputes should be settled without violence
Cite this entry
pacifism. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pacifism
“pacifism.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pacifism. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “pacifism,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pacifism.
Source: pacifism on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.