nominalism

UK: /ˈnɒmɪn^əˌlɪzəm/ US: (nom′ə nl iz′əm)

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

nom•i•nal•ism  (nom′ə nl iz′əm), n. 

1. Philosophy (in medieval philosophy) the doctrine that general or abstract words do not stand for objectively existing entities and that universals are no more than names assigned to them. Cf. conceptualism, realism (def. 5a).

• French nominalisme. See nominal, -ism
• 1830–40

nom′i•nal•ist, n. 
nom′i•nal•is′tic, adj. 
nom′i•nal•is′ti•cal•ly, adv. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

nominalism / ˈnɒmɪn^əˌlɪzəm/ noun

1. the philosophical theory that the variety of objects to which a single general word, such as dog, applies have nothing in common but the name
   Compare realism

ˈnominalist noun , adjective