stoicism

sto·i·cism
S1T1O1I1C3I1S1M3
UK/ˈstəʊɪsɪzəm/US/ˈstoʊɪsɪzəm/

noun

A school of philosophy popularized during the Roman Empire that emphasized reason as a means of understanding the natural state of things, or logos, and as a means of freeing oneself from emotional distress.

UncommonScrabble 12

Meanings

nounstoicism (countable and uncountable, plural stoicisms)

plural stoicisms

  1. countableuncountableA school of philosophy popularized during the Roman Empire that emphasized reason as a means of understanding the natural state of things, or logos, and as a means of freeing oneself from emotional distress.
  2. countableuncountableA real or pretended indifference to pleasure or pain; insensibility; impassiveness.

    Jones’ sad eyes betray a pervasive pain his purposefully spare dialogue only hints at, while the perfectly cast Brolin conveys hints of playfulness and warmth while staying true to the craggy stoicism at the character’s core.

    2012 May 24, Nathan Rabin, “Film: Reviews: Men In Black 3”, in The Onion AV Club, archived from the original on 05 Feb 2013
    1 more example

    Although very distant from the lives of her subjects – she never went to school and had only the most fleeting experiences of being on equal terms with anyone – she grew into a much respected figure, admired for her stoicism and diligence

    2022 September 8, Stephen Bates, “Queen Elizabeth II obituary”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 02 Nov 2022

Synonyms & antonyms

nounan indifference to pleasure or pain

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Latinstōicismus
  2. Englishstoicism

From Latin stōicismus. By surface analysis, stoic + -ism. First attested in the 1620s.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Afrikaans stoïsisme
  • stoïsismeschool of philosophy
Arabic رِوَاقِيَّة
  • رِوَاقِيَّة (riwāqiyya)school of philosophy
Catalan estoïcisme
  • estoïcismeschool of philosophy
Chinese Mandarin 堅忍 /坚忍, 斯多葛主義 /斯多葛主义
  • 堅忍 /坚忍 (jiānrěn)school of philosophy
  • 斯多葛主義 /斯多葛主义 (Sīduōgězhǔyì)school of philosophy
Czech stoicismus
  • stoicismusschool of philosophy
Danish stoicisme
  • stoicismeschool of philosophy
Dutch stoïcisme
  • stoïcismeschool of philosophy
Finnish stoalaisuus
  • stoalaisuusschool of philosophy
French stoïcisme
  • stoïcismeschool of philosophy
German Stoizismus
  • Stoizismusschool of philosophy
Greek στωικισμός
  • στωικισμός (stoïkismós)school of philosophy
Indonesian stoikisme
  • stoikismeschool of philosophy
Italian stoicismo
  • stoicismoschool of philosophy
Persian رواقیگری
  • رواقیگری (revâqi-gari)school of philosophy
Polish stoicyzm
  • stoicyzmschool of philosophy
Portuguese estoicismo
  • estoicismoschool of philosophy
Romanian stoicism
  • stoicismschool of philosophy
Russian стоици́зм
  • стоици́зм (stoicízm)school of philosophy
Spanish estoicismo
  • estoicismoschool of philosophy
Thai ลัทธิสโตอิก
  • ลัทธิสโตอิกschool of philosophy
Vietnamese chủ nghĩa khắc kỉ
  • chủ nghĩa khắc kỉschool of philosophy
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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