Meanings
nounutilitarianism (countable and uncountable, plural utilitarianisms)
plural utilitarianisms
- countableuncountablehuman sciencesA system of ethics based on the premise that something's value may be measured by its usefulness.
- countableuncountablehuman sciencesThe theory that action should be directed toward achieving the "greatest happiness for the greatest number of people" (hedonistic universalism), or one of various related theories.
- countableuncountablePracticality, functionality, as opposed to e.g. aesthetics.
After a few more concerts, my uneasiness took form: the response seemed only to be to the Interpreter as Performer. The reviews praised her artistry. But I heard few women speak of her as a bridge in communication for deaf women, about her function, her "utilitarianism."
1979 August 25, Vicki Gabriner, Susan Freundlich, “Bridging the Gaps between Deaf and Hearing Lesbians”, in Gay Community News, volume 7, number 6, page 8
Synonyms & antonyms
Broader
Origin
- Englishutility
- Englishutilitarian
- Englishutilitarianism
From utilitarian + -ism.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic نَفْعِيَّة
- نَفْعِيَّة (nafʕiyya)the theory of the "greatest happiness for the greatest number of people"
Bengali উপযোগবাদ
- উপযোগবাদ (upojōgbad)the theory of the "greatest happiness for the greatest number of people"
Chinese Cantonese 功用主義 /功用主义, 效益主義 /效益主义
- 功用主義 /功用主义 (gung¹ jung⁶ zyu² ji⁶)the theory of the "greatest happiness for the greatest number of people"
- 效益主義 /效益主义 (haau⁶ jik¹ zyu² ji⁶)the theory of the "greatest happiness for the greatest number of people"
Chinese Mandarin 效益主義 /效益主义, 功利主義 /功利主义
- 效益主義 /效益主义 (xiàoyìzhǔyì)the theory of the "greatest happiness for the greatest number of people"
- 功利主義 /功利主义 (gōnglìzhǔyì)the theory of the "greatest happiness for the greatest number of people"
Czech utilitarismus, utilitarizmus
- utilitarismusthe theory of the "greatest happiness for the greatest number of people"
- utilitarizmusthe theory of the "greatest happiness for the greatest number of people"
Danish utilitarianisme
- utilitarianismethe theory of the "greatest happiness for the greatest number of people"
Dutch utilisme
- utilismethe theory of the "greatest happiness for the greatest number of people"
Esperanto utilismo
- utilismothe theory of the "greatest happiness for the greatest number of people"
Finnish utilitarismi
- utilitarismithe theory of the "greatest happiness for the greatest number of people"
French utilitarisme
- utilitarismethe theory of the "greatest happiness for the greatest number of people"
German Utilitarismus
- Utilitarismusthe theory of the "greatest happiness for the greatest number of people"
Greek ωφελιμισμός
- ωφελιμισμός (ofelimismós)the theory of the "greatest happiness for the greatest number of people"
Hebrew תּוֹעַלְתָּנוּת
- תּוֹעַלְתָּנוּת (tu'ál'tanút)the theory of the "greatest happiness for the greatest number of people"
Hindi उपयोगितावाद
- उपयोगितावाद (upyogitāvād)the theory of the "greatest happiness for the greatest number of people"
Hungarian haszonelvűség, utilitarianizmus
- haszonelvűségthe theory of the "greatest happiness for the greatest number of people"
- utilitarianizmusthe theory of the "greatest happiness for the greatest number of people"
- utilitarizmusthe theory of the "greatest happiness for the greatest number of people"
Icelandic nytjasfena
- nytjasfenathe theory of the "greatest happiness for the greatest number of people"
Indonesian utilitarianisme
- utilitarianismethe theory of the "greatest happiness for the greatest number of people"
Irish fóntachas
- fóntachasthe theory of the "greatest happiness for the greatest number of people"
Italian utilitarismo
- utilitarismothe theory of the "greatest happiness for the greatest number of people"
Japanese 功利主義
- 功利主義 (kōrishugi)the theory of the "greatest happiness for the greatest number of people"
Korean 공리주의
- 공리주의 (gongnijuui)the theory of the "greatest happiness for the greatest number of people"
Norwegian Bokmål utilitarianisme
- utilitarianismethe theory of the "greatest happiness for the greatest number of people"
Persian فایدهگرایی
- فایدهگراییthe theory of the "greatest happiness for the greatest number of people"
Polish utylitaryzm
- utylitaryzmthe theory of the "greatest happiness for the greatest number of people"
Portuguese utilitarismo
- utilitarismothe theory of the "greatest happiness for the greatest number of people"
Russian утилитаризм
- утилитаризм (utilitarizm)the theory of the "greatest happiness for the greatest number of people"
Spanish utilitarismo
- utilitarismothe theory of the "greatest happiness for the greatest number of people"
Swedish utilitarism
- utilitarismthe theory of the "greatest happiness for the greatest number of people"
Tagalog karahatan
- karahatanthe theory of the "greatest happiness for the greatest number of people"
Vietnamese chủ nghĩa vị lợi, chủ nghĩa công lợi
- chủ nghĩa vị lợithe theory of the "greatest happiness for the greatest number of people"
- chủ nghĩa công lợithe theory of the "greatest happiness for the greatest number of people"
Cite this entry
APA
utilitarianism. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/utilitarianism
MLA
“utilitarianism.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/utilitarianism. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “utilitarianism,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/utilitarianism.
Source: utilitarianism on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.