particularism

American  

[per-tik-yuh-luh-riz-uhm, puh-tik-] / pərˈtɪk yə ləˌrɪz əm, pəˈtɪk- /

noun

1. exclusive attention or devotion to one's own particular interests, party, etc.

2. the principle of leaving each state of a federation free to retain its laws and promote its interests.

3. Theology. the doctrine that divine grace is provided only for the elect.

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particularism British  

/ pəˈtɪkjʊləˌrɪzəm /

noun

1. exclusive attachment to the interests of one group, class, sect, etc, esp at the expense of the community as a whole

2. the principle of permitting each state or minority in a federation the right to further its own interests or retain its own laws, traditions, etc

3. theol the doctrine that divine grace is restricted to the elect

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Other Word Forms

• particularist noun
• particularistic adjective
• particularistically adverb

Etymology

Origin of particularism

From the French word particularisme, dating back to 1815–25. See particular, -ism

Example Sentences

Her sense of humor has a rooted particularism, and her comic timing is sharp.

From The New Yorker • Nov. 11, 2019

Their stories precisely anticipate the tension today’s Jewish liberals experience trying to reconcile their own pro-Israel particularism and their social-justice universalism.

From New York Times • Apr. 11, 2019

But at this moment, right in the middle of a sentence describing her personal belief in moral particularism, Bell is stumped by something she can’t explain.

From The Guardian • Sep. 26, 2018

Over time, elision became neglect: Partial articulations of a world of peoples were conflated with the very toxic particularism they had been created to realistically combat.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 8, 2018

Thus it appears that, although the Constitution did create courts to decide all disputes arising under it, the particularism which previously prevailed continued to exist.

From The Life of Lyman Trumbull by White, Horace