Phrase guide

dialectical materialism

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

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1

noun

Meaning 1

The concept of reality in which material things are in the constant process of change brought about by the tension between conflicting or interacting forces, elements, or ideas.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

Topics: human-sciences, philosophy, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: diamat

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

the materialistic philosophy of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: materialism, physicalism

History

Etymology

Calque of German dialektischer Materialismus, coined by Joseph Dietzgen in Streifzüge eines Sozialisten in das Gebiet der Erkenntnißtheorie [1887].

Across languages

Translations

28 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 唯物辯證法 /唯物辩证法 (wéiwù biànzhèngfǎ) — branch of philosophy
  • Chinese Mandarin: 辯證唯物主義 /辩证唯物主义 (biànzhèng wéiwùzhǔyì) — branch of philosophy
  • Chinese Mandarin: 辯證唯物論 /辩证唯物论 (biànzhèng wéiwùlùn) — branch of philosophy
  • Dutch: dialectisch materialisme — branch of philosophy
  • Esperanto: dialektika materiismo — branch of philosophy
  • Finnish: dialektinen materialismi — branch of philosophy
  • French: matérialisme dialectique — branch of philosophy
  • German: dialektischer Materialismus — branch of philosophy
  • Greek: διαλεκτικός υλισμός (dialektikós ylismós) — branch of philosophy
  • Hungarian: dialektikus materializmus — branch of philosophy
  • Indonesian: materialisme dialektis — branch of philosophy
  • Italian: materialismo dialettico — branch of philosophy
  • Japanese: 唯物弁証法 (yuibutsu benshōhō) — branch of philosophy
  • Japanese: 弁証法的唯物論 (benshōhōteki yuibutsuron) — branch of philosophy
  • Malayalam: വൈരുദ്ധ്യാധിഷ്ഠിത ഭൗതികവാദം (vairuddhyādhiṣṭhita bhautikavādaṁ) — branch of philosophy
  • Polish: materializm dialektyczny — branch of philosophy
  • Portuguese: materialismo dialético — branch of philosophy
  • Punjabi: ਦਵੰਦਾਤਮਿਕ ਪਦਾਰਥਵਾਦ (davandātmik padārthavād) — branch of philosophy
  • Romanian: materialism dialectic — branch of philosophy
  • Russian: диалекти́ческий материали́зм (dialektíčeskij materialízm) — branch of philosophy
  • Russian: диама́т (diamát) — branch of philosophy
  • Slovene: dialektični materializem — branch of philosophy
  • Spanish: materialismo dialéctico — branch of philosophy
  • Tagalog: materyalismong diyalektiko — branch of philosophy
  • Turkish: diyalektik materyalizm — branch of philosophy
  • Ukrainian: діалекти́чний матеріалі́зм (dialektýčnyj materialízm) — branch of philosophy
  • Vietnamese: chủ nghĩa duy vật biện chứng — branch of philosophy
  • Vietnamese: phương pháp duy vật biện chứng — branch of philosophy