# statism

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈsteɪdɪzm/ · frequency rank #79,082

## Definitions
1. Synonym of secularism: subservience of religious issues to political officials and expediency.
2. Synonym of statecraft or statesmanship.
3. Synonym of government or governance.
4. The belief that most or all political power should be centralized in national governments.
5. The belief that most or nearly all political power should be decentralized to provincial governments.
6. The belief that the state is a legitimate social institution.

## Etymology
From stat(e) + -ism. Doublet of etatism. First attested in c. 1600.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/statism