Hobbesian

[ hob-zee-uhn ]

noun

1. a person who believes in or advocates the principles of Thomas Hobbes.

adjective

1. of, relating to, or recalling the principles of Thomas Hobbes.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Hobbesian¹

First recorded in 1770–80; Hobbes + -ian

Example Sentences

In Hobbesian terms, life in a Fincher film tends to be solitary and poor, nasty and brutish, if not necessarily short.

From New York Times

This Hobbesian pronouncement arrives deep into Yorgos Lanthimos’ “Poor Things,” the latest work from a filmmaker with a career-long interest in cruelty and beasts.

From Los Angeles Times

In total, the right views "society" as being a type of Hobbesian state of nature, something Darwinian, "ruled by survival of the fittest" where life is "nasty, brutish and short."

From Salon

Hobbesian nightmare ensued, the 145 remaining men starving, freezing, unhoused and barely clothed.

From Washington Post

Despite its seemingly Hobbesian aspect, Wick World does have rules, and by the second movie, the character is declared “excommunicado,” a word that underscores the High Table’s profile as a shadowy, quasi-religious elite manifestation of absolute power.

From New York Times