purism

[ pyoor-iz-uhm ]

noun

1. strict observance of or insistence on purity in language, style, etc.
2. an instance of this.
3. Often Purism. Fine Arts. a style of art developed in France in the early 20th century, characterized by the use of simple geometric forms and images evocative of objects produced by machine.

purism

/ ˈpjʊəˌrɪzəm /

noun

1. insistence on traditional canons of correctness of form or purity of style or content, esp in language, art, or music

Derived Forms

• ˈpurist, adjectivenoun
• puˈristically, adverb
• puˈristic, adjective

Other Words From

• pur·ist noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of purism¹

First recorded in 1795–1805; pure + -ism

Example Sentences

Stanford’s self-proclaimed ecological purism doesn’t mean he believes we should do away with nonnative species altogether, though.

From Los Angeles Times

“It’s basically, whatever looks good. If something doesn’t look right, I’ll use a different material. I don’t like glass purism.”

From Seattle Times

But Mr. Belafonte never embraced that sort of monarchical title, rejecting “purism” as a “cover-up for mediocrity” and explaining that he saw his work as a mash-up of musical styles.

From New York Times

“There’s no point of having some kind of a revolutionary purism that you should only preach to the choir. That would be completely pointless,” Malm said.

From Los Angeles Times

Since the financial crisis of 2008 and a pandemic that required massive government spending to ward off economic collapse, market purism has been on the decline.

From Washington Post