Standard Lemma guide

consumerism

noun · 5 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • US: /kənˈsumərɪzm̩/
  • Received-Pronunciation: /kənˈsjumərɪzm̩/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: K AH0 N S UW1 M ER0 IH2 Z AH0 M Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A materialistic attachment to possessions with a heavy use of consumables; a lifestyle based on such tendencies.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

An economic theory that increased consumption is beneficial to a nation's economy in the long run.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

A policy or social movement of protecting and informing consumers through honesty in advertising and packaging, as well as improved safety standards, among other measures.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

a movement advocating greater protection of the interests of consumers

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: campaign, cause, crusade, drive, movement, effort

5

noun

Meaning 5

the theory that an increasing consumption of goods is economically beneficial

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: economic theory

History

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ḱe? Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm Proto-Italic *kom Proto-Italic *kom- Latin con- Proto-Indo-European *upó Proto-Italic *supo Latin sub Latin sub- Proto-Indo-European *h1em- Proto-Indo-European *-eti Proto-Indo-European *h1émeti Proto-Italic *emō Latin emō Latin sūmō Latin cōnsūmōder. Old French consumerbor. Middle English consumen English consume Proto-Indo-European *-yósder. Proto-Italic *-āzios Latin -āriusnom. Latin -āriusbor. Proto-Germanic *-ārijaz Proto-West Germanic *-ārī Old English -ere Middle English -ere English -er English consumer Proto-Indo-European *-id- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-idyéti Proto-Hellenic *-íďďō Ancient Greek -ῐ́ζω (-ĭ́zō) Proto-Indo-European *-mos Proto-Indo-European *-mós Ancient Greek -μός (-mós) Ancient Greek -ισμός (-ismós)der. English -ism English consumerism From consumer + -ism.

Across languages

Translations

21 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: استهلاكية — economic theory
  • Arabic: نزعة استهلاكية — economic theory
  • Azerbaijani: istehlakçılıq — economic theory
  • Catalan: consumisme — economic theory
  • Chinese Mandarin: 消費主義 /消费主义 (xiāofèizhǔyì) — economic theory
  • Finnish: konsumerismi — economic theory
  • French: consumérisme — economic theory
  • German: Konsumismus — economic theory
  • Indonesian: konsumerisme — economic theory
  • Kazakh: тұтынушылық (tūtynuşylyq) — economic theory
  • Korean: 소비주의 (sobijuui) — economic theory
  • Malay: کڤڠݢوناءن (kepenggunaan) — economic theory
  • Māori: kaiwhakapetonga — economic theory
  • Persian: مصرفگرایی (masraf-gerâyi) — economic theory
  • Polish: konsumpcjonizm — economic theory
  • Portuguese: consumismo — economic theory
  • Russian: потреби́тельство (potrebítelʹstvo) — economic theory
  • Spanish: consumismo — economic theory
  • Swedish: konsumism — economic theory
  • Urdu: صارفیت (sārifiyat) — economic theory
  • Urdu: صارف پرستی (sārif-parastī) — economic theory