Meanings
- uncountableThe use of umbrella organizations as an organizational and funding structure.
Mental health as a movement, in becoming comprehensive, has expanded and all but lost its identity in social and health umbrellaism.
1974, Todd S. Smith, James E. Sorensen, Integrated Management Information Systems for Community Mental Health Centers, pages 1-83 more examples
Idle workers stoned British troops in Limassol and tried to mass in Nicosia's square, but the Tommies and police fixed bayonets, swing clubs, fired tear gas, arrested 209 demonstrators and generally let it be known that with the coming of Fighting John Harding, Cyprus' era of tolerant umbrellaism was over.
1955 October 10, “Foreign News: Cyprus”, in Time, volume 66, page 36Lord Whitelaw, then Chairman of the Conservative Partyy Policy Committee, considered that departmentalism would be more effective than umbrellaism.
1989, David Paterson, Mary Palmer, The Status of Animals: Ethics, Education and Welfare, page 2Regarding umbrella entities, the project could end up giving them too much power by recognizing union federations and also offering these entities the possibility of overlapping unions at the bottom of the pyramid, and creating "umbrellaism” as had once existed.
2013, Peilin Li, M. K. Gorshkov, Maria Celi Scalon, Handbook on Social Stratification in the BRIC Countries, page 103
Origin
From umbrella + -ism where "umbrella" is a clipping of umbrella organization.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
umbrellaism. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/umbrellaism
“umbrellaism.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/umbrellaism. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “umbrellaism,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/umbrellaism.
Source: umbrellaism on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.