relativism
noun
relativism is spelled R-E-L-A-T-I-V-I-S-M: 10 letters and 5 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 42,680th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, relativism means “The theory, especially in ethics or aesthetics, that conceptions of truth and moral values are not absolute but are relative to the persons or groups…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of relativism is relativisms.
How many letters and syllables are in relativism?
| Letters | 10: R-E-L-A-T-I-V-I-S-M |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 5 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 42,680th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is relativism?
Relativism appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 42,680th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce relativism?
Relativism has 5 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-relativism.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of relativism
- relativisms plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does relativism mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The theory, especially in ethics or aesthetics, that conceptions of truth and moral values are not absolute but are relative to the persons or groups holding them.
- 2
A specific such theory, advocated by a particular philosopher or school of thought.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Relativism in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense theory that truth and moral values are relative:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | relativisme |
| German | Relativismus |
| Portuguese | relativismo |
| Spanish | relativismo |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does relativism come from?
From relative + -ism.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).