Standard Lemma guide

defaultism

noun · 2 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.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /dɪˈfɒl.tɪ.zəm/
  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈdiːˌfɒl.tɪ.zəm/
  • Received-Pronunciation: /-fɔːl-/
  • General-American: /dɪˈfɔl.tɪ.zəm/
  • General-American: /ˈdiːˌfɔl.tɪ.zəm/
  • cot-caught-merger: /dɪˈfɑl.tɪ.zəm/
  • cot-caught-merger: /ˈdiːˌfɑl.tɪ.zəm/

1

noun

Meaning 1

An approach or situation in which something occurs by default, without being explicitly introduced.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

Examples

  • US defaultism

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

The often misguided belief that the circumstances surrounding an individual are the default for everyone else.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From default + -ism.