privatism

privatism means concern with issues only insofar as they affect one as an individual; self-interest. It carries an Arena rating of 1202, earned across 6 head-to-head judged battles.

Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, privatism ranks #495 of 13,217 for Most Malleable Words, #2,675 of 13,217 for Most Incisive Words, #3,590 of 13,217 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #5,499 of 13,217 for The Improbable.

Why “privatism” is a great word

The prioritization of one's private life and personal interests over public or collective affairs. From private (from Latin *privatus*, meaning 'withdrawn from public life') + the suffix *-ism* (denoting a practice, system, or doctrine). First attested in English in 1931. Unlike individualism, which champions the moral sovereignty of the self as a social principle, or civic engagement, its active, outward-looking antithesis, privatism describes a quiet, inward retreat. It is the turned shoulder on a crowded train, the meticulously tended garden wall, and the curated glow of a personal screen that becomes the entire horizon—a studied disconnection that makes the whole world a suburb.

Etymology

From private + -ism.

noun

Concern with issues only insofar as they affect one as an individual; self-interest.“Jane Austen's Emma (1816) illustrates the social novel's association of androgyny with selfish privatism.”

Words closest in meaning

By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.

societism 82% match — A social philosophy that promotes the well-being of the group without sacrificing the significance of the individual. vs privatism →
multitudinism 82% match — The principle that the interests of the people generally are more important than those of individuals vs privatism →
impersonalism 81% match — A belief system that places little importance on individuals and their subjective viewpoints and experiences. vs privatism →
egocentric 81% match — Selfish, self-centered, self-absorbed. vs privatism →
communalism 80% match — The communal ownership of property. vs privatism →
opportunism 80% match — The practice of taking advantage of any situations or people to achieve an end, often with no regard for principles or consequences. vs privatism →
cosmopolitism 80% match — cosmopolitanism vs privatism →
abstentionism 80% match — A policy of abstaining or of the desirability of withholding one's vote or other participation with regard to some aspect of the political process. vs privatism →