English

Noun

meliorism ‎(plural meliorisms)

1. The view or doctrine that the world can be improved through human effort (often understood as an intermediate outlook between optimism and pessimism). [from 19th c.]
   • 1966 May 6, "Forever Beginning," Time:

     At the convention, the official mood was traditional Methodist meliorism.

   • 2002, Colin Jones, The Great Nation, Penguin 2003, page 371:

     Enclaves of meritocratic and virtuous sociability, the lodges exuded [...] a thoroughgoing meliorism.

Derived terms

• meliorist
• melioristic
• melioristically

Translations

References

• “meliorism” in Dictionary.com Unabridged, v1.0.1, Lexico Publishing Group, 2006.
• “meliorism” in Microsoft's Encarta World English Dictionary, North American Edition (2007)
• "meliorism" at Rhymezone (Datamuse, 2006)
• Oxford English Dictionary, second edition (1989)
• Dictionary of Philosophy, Dagobert D. Runes (editor), Philosophical Library, 1962; see: "Meliorism" by Archie J. Bahm, page 195