utilitarian

English

Etymology

From utility +‎ -arian, Coined by English philosopher Jeremy Bentham as early as 1781, and popularized by his student John Stuart Mill, who mistakenly attributed the term to John Galt.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /juˌtɪl.ɪˈteɪɹ.i.ən/

Adjective

utilitarian (comparative more utilitarian, superlative most utilitarian)

1. of or relating to utility
2. practical and functional, present for use, not just for show.

Translations

practical and functional, not just for show

• Catalan: utilitari (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 功利主義／功利主义 (zh) (hant)

• Danish: utilitaristisk, funktionel
• French: utilitaire (fr) m or f, fonctionnel (fr) m, fonctionnelle (fr) f
• Greek: πρακτικός (el) m (praktikós), λειτουργικός (el) m (leitourgikós)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Hebrew: תועלתי (toalti)
• Irish: fóntaíoch
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: utilitaristisk

• Russian: утилита́рный (ru) (utilitárnyj)

Noun

utilitarian (plural utilitarians)

1. Someone who practices or advocates utilitarianism.

Translations

Someone who practices or advocates utilitarianism.

• Catalan: utilitari (ca) m, utilitària (ca) f
• Danish: utilitarist (da) c
• French: utilitariste (fr) m or f
• Greek: ωφελιμιστής (el) m (ofelimistís), ωφελιμίστρια (el) f (ofelimístria)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Irish: fóntaí m
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: utilitarist m

Derived terms

• utilitarianism
• futilitarianism
• utilitarianly

Further reading

• "utilitarian" in Raymond Williams, Keywords (revised), 1983, Fontana Press, page 327.