Pluralism Meaning
/plˈʊrəˌlɪzəm/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounThe quality or state of being plural, or in the plural number.
nounThe state of a pluralist; the holding of more than one ecclesiastical living at a time.
Sentence Examples
Pluralism is a political philosophy.
Pluralism is the only way forward.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The university strongly promotes ____ by encouraging many different viewpoints among students.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The country's strength lay in its cultural ____, with dozens of ethnic groups living side by side.
Word Origin & History
Etymology tree English plural 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 pluralism From plural + -ism.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Polytheism was inherently tolerant of the worship of many gods, because no single god was thought to control all the phenomena that are vital for human life. The gods were believed to tolerate this pluralism, and several could be worshiped in the same sanctuary or addressed in the same prayer."
— 2001, David L. Lieber, Jules Harlow, Etz Hayim: Torah and Commentary, page 1017:
"Instead, it is more probable that globalization is leading to a plurality of pluralisms."
— 2007, Matthias Koenig with Paul F. A. Guchteneire, Unesco, Democracy and Human Rights in Multicultural Societies, page 251:
"Due to pluralism and conflicts within the good itself, such perfection, for Berlin, is not possible. A compromise does not bring us closer to a higher telos in history."
— 2006, Connie Aarsbergen-Ligtvoet, Isaiah Berlin: A Value Pluralist and Humanist View of Human Nature and the Meaning of Live, →ISBN:
"Pluralism is a creative force because it admits of multiple ways to see a thing, multiple valuable paths to choose from."
— 2016, Stuart Firestein, Failure: Why Science is So Successful, page 217:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The university strongly promotes ____ by encouraging many different viewpoints among students.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The country's strength lay in its cultural ____, with dozens of ethnic groups living side by side.