Utilitarian
[jʊ,tɪlɪ'teərɪən] or [,jutɪlɪ'tɛrɪən]
Definition
(noun.) someone who believes that the value of a thing depends on its utility.
(adj.) having a useful function; 'utilitarian steel tables' .
(adj.) having utility often to the exclusion of values; 'plain utilitarian kitchenware' .
Inputed by Fidel--From WordNet
Definition
(a.) Of or pertaining to utility; consisting in utility; /iming at utility as distinguished from beauty, ornament, etc.; sometimes, reproachfully, evincing, or characterized by, a regard for utility of a lower kind, or marked by a sordid spirit; as, utilitarian narrowness; a utilitarian indifference to art.
(a.) Of or pertaining to utilitarianism; supporting utilitarianism; as, the utilitarian view of morality; the Utilitarian Society.
(n.) One who holds the doctrine of utilitarianism.
Checked by Emil
Definition
adj. consisting in or pertaining to utility or to utilitarianism.—n. one who holds utilitarianism.—v.t. Utilitā′rianise to make to serve a utilitarian purpose.—ns. Utilitā′rianism the ethical theory which finds the basis of moral distinctions in the utility of actions i.e. their fitness to produce happiness.
Typed by Elvin
Examples
- The utilitarian principle is valuable as a corrective of error, and shows to us a side of ethics which is apt to be neglected. Plato. The Republic.
- Their utilitarian value in forming habits of skill to be used for tangible results is important, but not when isolated from the appreciative side. John Dewey. Democracy and Education.
- Under the utilitarian motive of Rosedale's wooing she had felt, clearly enough, the heat of personal inclination. Edith Wharton. The House of Mirth.
- Uncouth and clumsy doors, windows and blinds, were framed on the simplest utilitarian basis, and a scanty supply of rude hand-made furniture imperfectly filled the simple wants of the home. Edward W. Byrn. The Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century.
- The luxury of lying late in bed was a pleasure belonging to the life of ease; it had no part in the utilitarian existence of the boarding-house. Edith Wharton. The House of Mirth.
- Such knowing is depreciated, if not despised, as purely utilitarian, lacking in cultural significance. John Dewey. Democracy and Education.
- It is the most compact, business-like, and dangerous of all utilitarian devices. Edward W. Byrn. The Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century.
- Moreover, Hugo, like Bacon, insisted on the importance of not being narrowly utilitarian. Walter Libby. An Introduction to the History of Science.
- The coin operated, or nickel-in-the-slot machine, finds a popular demand, while its utilitarian use as an amanuensis, or stenographer, is as yet a subordinate one. Edward W. Byrn. The Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century.
- In the most commercial and utilitarian states of society the power of ideas remains. Plato. The Republic.
Typist: Shirley