Dictionary
determinism
noun de·ter·min·ism \di-ˈtər-mə-ˌni-zəm, dē-\
philosophy : the belief that all events are caused by things that happened before them and that people have no real ability to make choices or control what happens
Full Definition of DETERMINISM
1
a : a theory or doctrine that acts of the will, occurrences in nature, or social or psychological phenomena are causally determined by preceding events or natural laws b : a belief in predestination
2
: the quality or state of being determined
— de·ter·min·ist \-nəst\ noun or adjective
— de·ter·min·is·tic \-ˌtər-mə-ˈnis-tik\ adjective
— de·ter·min·is·ti·cal·ly \-ti-k(ə-)lē\ adverb
See determinism defined for English-language learners
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First Known Use of DETERMINISM
1846
Other Psychology Terms
Rhymes with DETERMINISM
absenteeism, absolutism, abstractionism, adventurism, aestheticism, Afrocentrism, agnosticism, alcoholism, amateurism, anabaptism, anachronism, Anglicanism, animalism, antagonism, Arianism, astigmatism, athleticism, automatism, behaviorism, Big Brotherism, bilingualism, Bonapartism, cannibalism, capitalism, Cartesianism, Catholicism, charlatanism, collectivism, commercialism, communalism, Confucianism, conservatism, constructivism, consumerism, corporatism, creationism, do-nothingism, eclecticism, ecotourism, ecumenism, egocentrism, empiricism, epicurism, eroticism, essentialism, ethnocentrism, evangelism, exoticism, expansionism, expressionism, Fabianism, factionalism, fanaticism, favoritism, federalism, Fenianism, feuilletonism, Fourierism, fraternalism, Freudianism, funambulism, functionalism, hermeticism, Hispanicism, historicism, hooliganism, illiberalism, illusionism, impressionism, infantilism, inflationism, initialism, insularism, irredentism, Jacobinism, Keynesianism, know-nothingism, lesbianism, liberalism, libertinism, literalism, Lutheranism, Lysenkoism, magic realism, malapropism, mercantilism, messianism, metabolism, metamorphism, militarism, minimalism, monasticism, monotheism, mutualism, naturalism, Naziritism, negativism, neologism, neo-Nazism, neorealism, nominalism, nonconformism, objectivism, obscurantism, obstructionism, opportunism, pacificism, parallelism, pastoralism, paternalism, patriotism, Peeping Tomism, perfectionism, photo-realism, plebeianism, polytheism, positivism, postmodernism, primitivism, progressivism, protectionism, Protestantism, provincialism, puritanism, radicalism, rationalism, recidivism, reductionism, regionalism, relativism, revisionism, revivalism, ritualism, romanticism, salvationism, sansculottism, scholasticism, sectionalism, secularism, separatism, serialism, Slavophilism, somnambulism, Stakhanovism, structuralism, subjectivism, teetotalism, theocentrism, triumphalism, Uncle Tomism, ventriloquism, vigilantism, workaholism
Medical Dictionary
determinism
noun de·ter·min·ism \di-ˈtər-mə-ˌniz-əm\
Medical Definition of DETERMINISM
1
: a theory or doctrine that acts of the will, occurrences in nature, or social or psychological phenomena are causally determined by preceding events or natural laws <explained behavior by the combination of an environmental and a genetic determinism>
2
: the quality or state of being determined
—de·ter·min·is·tic \-ˌtər-mə-ˈnis-tik\ also de·ter·min·ist \-ˈtərm-(ə-)nəst\ adjective
—de·ter·min·is·ti·cal·ly \-ˌtər-mə-ˈnis-ti-k(ə-)lē\ adverb
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