ESSENTIALIST Definition & Meaning

essentialist

[uh-sen-shuh-list]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

Philosophy.��someone who follows the principles of essentialism, believing that the inward, or essential, nature of most things is invariable, as opposed to the properties that are accidental, phenomenal, illusory, etc..
The author calls gender essentialists to account for what she sees as their oversimplification of observed gender differences in children.
Education.��someone who follows the principles of essentialism, a doctrine that certain traditional concepts, ideals, and skills are essential to society and should be taught methodically to all students.
Essentialists argue that a key function of school is to give young people the basic knowledge necessary for good citizenship.

adjective

following the principles of essentialism: Traditional disciplines such as math, natural science, history, foreign language, and literature form the foundation of the essentialist curriculum.
Scholars are increasingly warning against reducing ancient religions to monolithic, essentialist entities.
Traditional disciplines such as math, natural science, history, foreign language, and literature form the foundation of the essentialist curriculum.

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51�Թ� History and Origins

Origin of essentialist¹

essential ( def. ) + -ist ( def. )

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

“The Yale Youth Poll confirms what some of us have long insisted: Youth alone will not rescue a democracy hollowed out by gangster capitalism and ruled by demagogues who traffic in white Christian nationalism, white supremacy, cruelty and corruption....The fantasy that generational replacement will automatically yield justice is a dangerous illusion — one that absolves adults of their moral and political responsibilities while rooted in an essentialist notion of politics.”

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It has done this by appealing to "tradition" or "real America" or "heartland" or similar essentialist claims.

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This fluidity is evident in tracks like "Jennifer's Body" and "Gutless," where Love adopts different personas to explore the multiplicity of feminine identity and challenge essentialist notions of womanhood.

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But onboard the ship this question doesn’t seem essentialist: It feels essential, maybe even existential.

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But their maturation is less rooted in the essentialist DNA that tends to be embedded within these movies — that their journey to something will have fundamentally changed who they are — and more in refining and polishing who these characters were the whole time.

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essentialism essentiality

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