Benthamism

1 of 3

noun (1)

Ben·​tham·​ism ˈben(t)-thə-ˌmi-zəm How to pronounce Benthamism (audio)
: the utilitarian philosophy of Jeremy Bentham and his followers
Benthamite
ˈben(t)-thə-ˌmīt How to pronounce Benthamism (audio)
noun or adjective

Benthamite

2 of 3

noun (2)

Ben·​tham·​ite ˈben(t)-thə-ˌmīt How to pronounce Benthamite (audio)
-tə-
plural -s
: one that adheres to Benthamism

Benthamite

3 of 3

adjective

Ben·​tham·​ite ˈben(t)-thə-ˌmīt How to pronounce Benthamite (audio)
-tə-
: of or relating to Benthamism
… the Benthamite objective of the greatest happiness of the greatest number.—Piers Paul Read, Spectator, 4 Mar. 2006

Word History

Etymology

Noun (2)

J. Bentham + English -ite

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1820, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

1826, in the meaning defined above

Adjective

1827, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of Benthamism was in 1820

Rhymes for Benthamism

See All Rhymes for Benthamism

Browse Nearby Words

Benthamic
Benthamism
Benthamite
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Benthamism.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Benthamism. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All