Standard Lemma guide

environmentalism

noun · 4 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: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: EH0 N V AY1 R AH0 N M EH2 N T AH0 L IH2 Z AH0 M Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
  • CMU ARPABET 2: EH0 N V AY1 R AH0 N M EH2 N AH0 L IH2 Z AH0 M Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A theory that views environment, rather than heredity or culture, as the important factor in the development of an individual or group.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Topics: human-sciences, medicine, sciences, social-science, social-sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A political and social ideology that seeks to prevent the environment from degradation by human activity.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Topics: government, politics

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

the activity of protecting the environment from pollution or destruction

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: preservation, saving

4

noun

Meaning 4

the philosophical doctrine that environment is more important than heredity in determining intellectual growth

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: hereditarianism

Broader terms: philosophical doctrine, philosophical theory

History

Etymology

Etymology tree Middle French environnementbor. English environment English -al English environmental 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 environmentalism From environmental + -ism.

Across languages

Translations

21 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 環境保護主義 /环境保护主义 (huánjìng bǎohù zhǔyì) — ideology seeking to prevent the degradation of environment
  • Finnish: environmentalismi — ideology seeking to prevent the degradation of environment
  • French: écologisme — ideology seeking to prevent the degradation of environment
  • French: environnementalisme — ideology seeking to prevent the degradation of environment
  • Galician: ecoloxismo — ideology seeking to prevent the degradation of environment
  • Georgian: ინვაირონმენტალიზმი (invaironmenṭalizmi) — ideology seeking to prevent the degradation of environment
  • Georgian: ეკოლოგიზმი (eḳologizmi) — ideology seeking to prevent the degradation of environment
  • German: Ökologismus — ideology seeking to prevent the degradation of environment
  • Hungarian: környezetvédelem — ideology seeking to prevent the degradation of environment
  • Italian: ambientalismo — ideology seeking to prevent the degradation of environment
  • Italian: ecologismo — ideology seeking to prevent the degradation of environment
  • Japanese: 環境主義 — ideology seeking to prevent the degradation of environment
  • Macedonian: природозаштита (prirodozaštita) — ideology seeking to prevent the degradation of environment
  • Portuguese: ambientalismo — ideology seeking to prevent the degradation of environment
  • Portuguese: ecologismo — ideology seeking to prevent the degradation of environment
  • Romanian: ecologism — ideology seeking to prevent the degradation of environment
  • Russian: энвайронментали́зм (envajronmentalízm) — ideology seeking to prevent the degradation of environment
  • Russian: экологи́зм (ekologízm) — ideology seeking to prevent the degradation of environment
  • Spanish: ecologismo — ideology seeking to prevent the degradation of environment
  • Spanish: ambientalismo — ideology seeking to prevent the degradation of environment
  • Turkish: çevrecilik — ideology seeking to prevent the degradation of environment
Real reading context

environmentalism in complete knowledge articles