Word.ws English Dictionary

custodialism

custodialism noun: an approach to caring for people in institutions which emphasizes supervision and control over the inmate's environment and access to resources.

Noun

custodialism (usually uncountable, plural custodialisms)

  1. (usually) An approach to caring for people in institutions which emphasizes supervision and control over the inmate's environment and access to resources.
    • The large VA hospital, T, was considered intermediate or transitional in that it was in process of fairly rapid change away from custodialism.1970, Henry Wechsler, Leonard Solomon, Bernard M. Kramer, Social psychology and mental health, page 583
    • Although there is much difference of opinion among gerontologits on the use of institutions, assaults are now appearing from new directions, and some of the basic assumptions and practices of custodialism are being challenged.1978, Mildred M. Seltzer, Sherry L. Corbett, Robert C. Atchley, Social problems of the aging, page 207

Examples of custodialism in a sentence

  • Opposition to custodialism took many forms, both inside and outside the institution, with some who challenged the role of the institution itself.1982, Steven H. Zarit, Readings in Aging and Death : Contemporary Perspectives, page 242:
  • It has been suggested that the major theoretical influence among nurses is the medical model, represented by offering medication and custodialisms.1993, Nursing Times, Nursing Mirror: NT - Volume 89, Issues 40-51, page 53:
  • The moral imbecility concept also encouraged custodialism.1997, Nicole Hahn Rafter, Creating Born Criminals, →ISBN, page 66:

Forms of custodialism

pluralcustodialisms

Origin of custodialism

From custodial + -ism.

Questions about custodialism

What does custodialism mean?
Custodialism means an approach to caring for people in institutions which emphasizes supervision and control over the inmate's environment and access to resources.
How do you use custodialism in a sentence?
Opposition to custodialism took many forms, both inside and outside the institution, with some who challenged the role of the institution itself.
What part of speech is custodialism?
Custodialism is a noun.
What is the plural of custodialism?
The plural of custodialism is custodialisms.

Words near custodialism in the dictionary

  1. custodes
  2. custodes regni
  3. custodes rotulorum
  4. custodia
  5. custodial
  6. custodialism
  7. custodialisms
  8. custodially
  9. custodiam
  10. custodiams
  11. custodian

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: custodialism (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “custodialism.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/custodialism. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.