solipsism

American  

[sol-ip-siz-uhm] / ˈsɒl ɪpˌsɪz əm /

noun

1. Philosophy. the theory that only the self exists, or can be proved to exist.

2. extreme preoccupation with and indulgence of one's feelings, desires, etc.; egoistic self-absorption.

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solipsism British  

/ ˈsɒlɪpˌsɪzəm /

noun

1. philosophy the extreme form of scepticism which denies the possibility of any knowledge other than of one's own existence

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solipsism Cultural  

1. The belief that all reality is just one's own imagining of reality, and that one's self is the only thing that exists.

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Other Word Forms

• solipsismal adjective
• solipsist noun
• solipsistic adjective

Etymology

Origin of solipsism

1880–85; sol(i)- ¹ + Latin ips ( e ) self + -ism

Example Sentences

It’s fine—normally, I like to give Americans a bit of grief over their solipsism, but things have been domestically on fire for the past 100 days or so.

From Slate • Apr. 29, 2025

Every season of “The White Lotus” studies Western solipsism, the American strain in particular.

From Salon • Feb. 16, 2025

Koch was implicitly raising what I call the solipsism problem, to which I will return.

From Scientific American • Jun. 26, 2023

She is no less memorable here, as a woman whose blithely oblivious solipsism irks Lizzy.

From Washington Post • Apr. 12, 2023

It strikes me, in my middle-class solipsism, that there is gross improvidence in some of these arrangements.

From "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America" by Barbara Ehrenreich

Related Words

• egoism
• subjectivity