utilitarian
/juˌtɪləˈtɛɹi.ən//juːˌtɪlɪˈtɛəɹi.ən/
utilitarian adjective: of or relating to utility.
Adjective
utilitarian (comparative more utilitarian, superlative most utilitarian)
- Of or relating to utility.
- Pertaining to utilitarianism.
- Practical and functional, present for use, not just for show.
- The semi-streamlined contour of the earlier G.W.R. railcars has been given up in favour of a more utilitarian blunt-nose end, and effective floor space gained thereby.1941 October, “Notes and News: Great Western Parcels Railcar”, in Railway Magazine, page 474
- These have helped develop a recognition in the industry that bland utilitarian stations do not provide an attractive welcome to the railway, that passengers value stations of character as well as convenience, and that these qualities encourage greater use of trains.2020 December 2, Anthony Lambert, “Reimagining Railway Stations”, in Rail, pages 38–39
Noun
utilitarian (plural utilitarians)
- Someone who practices or advocates utilitarianism.
- Before his companies collapsed, Mr. Bankman-Fried often described himself as a utilitarian — meaning that he made decisions designed to advance the greater good.2023 October 11, David Yaffe-Bellany, Matthew Goldstein, J. Edward Moreno, “Caroline Ellison Says She and Sam Bankman-Fried Lied for Years”, in The New York Times, →ISSN
utilitarian meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu
utilitarian in Hindi
- उपयोगितावादी
utilitarian in Tamil
- பயனோக்காளன், பயனோக்கு, பயன் முதற்கொள்கை, பயன்படு
utilitarian in Marathi
- उपयोगितावादी
utilitarian in Urdu
- افادی, افادیت, افادیت پسند
More languagesFewer languages
- utilitarian in Bengali
- উপযোগ, উপযোগবাদের সাথে সম্পর্কিত, ব্যবহারিক এবং কার্যকরী
- utilitarian in Malayalam
- പ്രയോജനത്താൽ ഗുണനിർണ്ണയം ചെയ്യപ്പെടുന്ന, പ്രായോഗികതക്ക്, ഉപയോഗയോഗ്യതക്ക് പ്രാധാന്യം നൽകുന്നവൻ
- utilitarian in Kannada
- ಪ್ರಯೋಜನವಾದಿ, ಉಪಯೋಗಿತಾವಾದಿ, ಉಪಯೋಗಕ್ಕೆ ಬರುವ
- utilitarian in Punjabi
- ਉਪਯੋਗਿਤਾਵਾਦੀ
- utilitarian in Gujarati
- ઉપયોગિતાવાદી
- utilitarian in Odia
- ଉପଯୋଗିତାମୂଳକ, ଉପଯୋଗିତାବାଦୀ
- utilitarian in Nepali
- उपयोगितावादी
Examples of utilitarian in a sentence
- First, as indicated already, negative utilitarians seek to minimize the sum total of distress.
- By utilitarian, I mean all remunerational, scholarly, political, professional, medicinal, charitable, recreational, diversionary, culinary or domiciliary activities.
- Although, along with many so-called negative utilitarians, his emphasis is on reducing pain, rather than increasing pleasure.
Forms of utilitarian
| Adjective | |
|---|---|
| comparative | more utilitarian |
| superlative | most utilitarian |
| Noun | |
| plural | utilitarians |
Origin of utilitarian
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.
Words formed from utilitarian
Questions about utilitarian
- What does utilitarian mean?
- Utilitarian means of or relating to utility.
- What is utilitarian in Hindi?
- Utilitarian in Hindi is उपयोगितावादी. See Utilitarian meaning in Hindi.
- What part of speech is utilitarian?
- Utilitarian can be an adjective or a noun.
- How do you pronounce utilitarian?
- Utilitarian is pronounced /juːˌtɪlɪˈtɛəɹi.ən/ (UK).
Words near utilitarian in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: utilitarian (page history and authors); utilitarian (Hindi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); utilitarian (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); utilitarian (Marathi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); utilitarian (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); utilitarian (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); utilitarian (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); utilitarian (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); utilitarian (Punjabi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); utilitarian (Gujarati, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); utilitarian (Odia, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); utilitarian (Nepali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). 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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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-utilitarian.wav.
Cite this entry: “utilitarian.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/utilitarian. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.