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.
Received-Pronunciation:/ˈmɪnɪməlɪzəm/
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
General-American:/ˈmɪn.ə.məl.ɪz.əm/
General-American:[ˈmɪn.ə.mɫ̩.ɪz.m̩]
CMU ARPABET:M IH1 N AH0 M AH0 L IH2 Z AH0 M
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
A style of art that emphasises extreme simplicity of form.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
Topics: art, arts
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
A style of music that emphasises extreme simplicity of rhythms and melodic forms to achieve a trancelike effect.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
Topics: entertainment, lifestyle, music
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
Of simple living, the intentional reduction of material possessions and distractions.
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
an art movement in sculpture and painting that began in the 1950s and emphasized extreme simplification of form and color
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: minimal art, reductivism
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: artistic movement, art movement
History
Etymology
Etymology tree English minimum English -al English minimal 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 minimalism From minimal + -ism.
Across languages
Translations
35 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Catalan:
minimalisme
— style of art
Chinese Mandarin:
{{t+|1=cmn|2=極簡主義|tr=jíjiǎn zhǔyì}}
— style of art
Czech:
minimalismus
— style of art
Dutch:
minimalisme
— style of art
Esperanto:
minimumismo
— style of art
Finnish:
minimalismi
— style of art
French:
minimalisme
— style of art
Greek:
μινιμαλισμός
(minimalismós)
— style of art
Hungarian:
minimalizmus
— style of art
Irish:
íostachas
— style of art
Italian:
minimalismo
— style of art
Polish:
minimalizm
— style of art
Portuguese:
minimalismo
— style of art
Russian:
минимали́зм
(minimalízm)
— style of art
Spanish:
minimalismo
— style of art
Swedish:
minimalism
— style of art
Tagalog:
minimalismo
— style of art
Ukrainian:
мінімалі́зм
(minimalízm)
— style of art
Welsh:
minimaliaeth
— style of art
Catalan:
minimalisme
— style of music
Czech:
minimalismus
— style of music
Dutch:
minimalisme
— style of music
Esperanto:
minimumismo
— style of music
Greek:
μινιμαλισμός
(minimalismós)
— style of music
Hungarian:
minimalizmus
— style of music
Irish:
íostachas
— style of music
Italian:
minimalismo
— style of music
Polish:
minimalizm
— style of music
Portuguese:
minimalismo
— style of music
Russian:
минимали́зм
(minimalízm)
— style of music
Spanish:
minimalismo
— style of music
Swedish:
minimalism
— style of music
Tagalog:
minimalismo
— style of music
Ukrainian:
мінімалі́зм
(minimalízm)
— style of music