Standard Lemma guide

declinism

noun · 1 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

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  • UK: /dɪˈklaɪnɪzəm/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A pessimistic belief that things are in decline.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

Examples

  • Scholars point out that strains of declinism can be found in most eras of history, which raises the question, is it logically possible for the world to be going to hell interminably — to be endlessly on its way to hell, ever worse than before, and ever better at each earlier epoch?

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: optimism

Broader terms: pessimism

History

Etymology

From decline + -ism.