Word.ws English Dictionary

singularist

singularist noun: one who affects singularity.

Noun

singularist (plural singularists)

  1. (obsolete) One who affects singularity.
    • a clownish singularist, or nonconformist to ordinary usagea. 1678 (date written), Isaac Barrow, “(please specify the chapter name or sermon number)”, in The Works of Dr. Isaac Barrow. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to VII), London: A[braham] J[ohn]...
  2. One who believes there is a single valid interpretion.
    • To that end, the singularist understands an inquiry to proceed.2007, Michael Krausz, Interpretation and Transformation, page 30
    • What divides the singularist from the multiplist is not just an epistemic difference.2019, Michael Krausz, Rightness and Reasons: Interpretation in Cultural Practices, page 45
  3. One who believes that the causal relationship is a directly perceivable and reducible relation between two events.
    • Like all singularists, Ducasse holds that causation is a relation between particular events with no generalist comonent.1997, Douglas Ehring, Causation and Persistence: A Theory of Causation, page 8
    • My own sympathies are with the generalizing singularist,2010, Michael S. Moore, Causation and Responsibility, page 506

Adjective

singularist (comparative more singularist, superlative most singularist)

  1. Pertaining to the believe in a single valid interpretation.
    • Yet insofar as such reconciliation or healing depends upon satisfactory elucidatory inquiries into the admissibility of interretations of pertinent situations, the conducts of inquiry associated with singularist and multiplist ideals would be operative.2007, Michael Krausz, Interpretation and Transformation, page 30
    • Rather than think of multiplist conditions as being always en route to an ideal singularist condition (which they may sometimes be), the multiplist allows that a singularist condition may itself be interim or en route to a yet deeper understanding of the complexities of pertinent practices .2019, Michael Krausz, Rightness and Reasons: Interpretation in Cultural Practices, page 45
  2. Pertaining to the belief believes that the causal relationship is a directly perceivable and reducible relation between two events
    • In that respect , I am working within a broadly Humean tradition and not the singularist tradition .1997, Douglas Ehring, Causation and Persistence: A Theory of Causation, page 10
    • Whether singularist theories of causation are viable depends intially on which brand of singularism one has in mind.2010, Michael S. Moore, Causation and Responsibility, page 506

Forms of singularist

Noun
pluralsingularists
Adjective
comparativemore singularist
superlativemost singularist

Origin of singularist

From singular + -ist.

Questions about singularist

What does singularist mean?
Singularist means one who affects singularity.
What part of speech is singularist?
Singularist can be a noun or an adjective.
What is the plural of singularist?
The plural of singularist is singularists.

Words near singularist in the dictionary

  1. singularise
  2. singularised
  3. singularises
  4. singularising
  5. singularism
  6. singularist
  7. singularists
  8. singularitarian
  9. singularitarianism
  10. singularitarians
  11. singularities

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: singularist (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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