Hobbesian

English

Alternative forms

• Hobbsian

Etymology

From Hobbes (“a surname”) +‎ -ian; referring to the 17th century English author Thomas Hobbes, whose best-known work, Leviathan, describes a situation of unrestrained, selfish and uncivilized competition.

Adjective

Hobbesian (comparative more Hobbesian, superlative most Hobbesian)

1. Involving unrestrained, selfish, and uncivilized competition among participants.

   a Hobbesian cutthroat environment

   • 1995, Fred Pfeil, White Guys: Studies in Postmodern Domination and Difference, page 150:

     In Hammett's writings, the social is constructed as a vast Hobbesian landscape of grim functionaries and desperate scrabblers […]

2. (political philosophy) Relating to Thomas Hobbes or his philosophical theories.

Translations

relating to Thomas Hobbes or his philosophical theories

• Czech: hobbesovský
• French: hobbesien (fr)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• German: Hobbessch
• Portuguese: hobbesiano