noun · 7 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.
/ˈhɛlənɪzm/
US:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
CMU ARPABET:HH EH1 L AH0 N IH2 Z AH0 M
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
Any of the characteristics of ancient Greek culture, civilization, principles and ideals, including humanism, reason, the pursuit of knowledge and the arts, moderation and civic responsibility.
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
The national character or culture of Greece.
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
The culture and civilization of the Hellenistic period.
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
The culture and civilization of the Hellenistic period.
The admiration for and adoption of ancient Greek culture, ideas and civilization.
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
5
noun
Meaning 5
A Greek idiom or turn of phrase.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, rhetoric, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
6
noun
Meaning 6
The modern-day revival of the polytheistic religious system of Ancient Greece.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: Dodekatheism
Antonyms: none provided
7
noun
Meaning 7
the principles and ideals associated with classical Greek civilization
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: principle
History
Etymology
Either via French hellénisme or Latin Hellēnismus or directly from Ancient Greek Ἑλληνισμός (Hellēnismós, “imitation of the Greeks”), from Ἕλλην (Héllēn, “a Greek”).
Across languages
Translations
31 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Catalan:
hel·lenisme
— characteristics of ancient Greek culture
Czech:
helénismus
— characteristics of ancient Greek culture
German:
Hellenismus
— characteristics of ancient Greek culture
Greek:
ελληνισμός
(ellinismós)
— characteristics of ancient Greek culture
Hebrew:
יונות
— characteristics of ancient Greek culture
Irish:
Heilléanachas
— characteristics of ancient Greek culture
Irish:
Gréagachas
— characteristics of ancient Greek culture
Catalan:
hel·lenisme
— culture and civilization of the Hellenistic period
Czech:
helénismus
— culture and civilization of the Hellenistic period
Esperanto:
helenismo
— culture and civilization of the Hellenistic period
Finnish:
hellenismi
— culture and civilization of the Hellenistic period
Galician:
helenismo
— culture and civilization of the Hellenistic period
Georgian:
ელინიზმი
(elinizmi)
— culture and civilization of the Hellenistic period
German:
Hellenismus
— culture and civilization of the Hellenistic period
Greek:
ελληνισμός
(ellinismós)
— culture and civilization of the Hellenistic period
Kazakh:
эллинизм
(éllinizm)
— culture and civilization of the Hellenistic period
Portuguese:
helenismo
— culture and civilization of the Hellenistic period
Spanish:
helenismo
— culture and civilization of the Hellenistic period
Catalan:
hel·lenisme
— admiration for and adoption of Greek culture
Finnish:
hellenismi
— admiration for and adoption of Greek culture
Galician:
helenismo
— admiration for and adoption of Greek culture
Georgian:
ელენიზმი
(elenizmi)
— admiration for and adoption of Greek culture
Irish:
Heilléanachas
— admiration for and adoption of Greek culture
Portuguese:
helenismo
— admiration for and adoption of Greek culture
Spanish:
helenismo
— admiration for and adoption of Greek culture
Finnish:
kreikkalaisuus
— national character or culture of Greece
Greek:
ελληνισμός
(ellinismós)
— national character or culture of Greece
French:
hellénisme
— modern religion
Portuguese:
helenismo
— modern religion
Finnish:
kreikkalainen uskonto
— belief in and worship of Greek gods
Finnish:
hellenismi (neopagan)
— belief in and worship of Greek gods