ideology Hear it!

ideology Definition

ideol·ogy (ī′dē äl′ə jē, id′ē-)

noun pl. -·gies

  1. Archaic the study of the nature and origin of ideas
  2. thinking or theorizing of an idealistic, abstract, or impractical nature; fanciful speculation
  3. the doctrines, opinions, or way of thinking of an individual, class, etc.; specif., the body of ideas on which a particular political, economic, or social system is based

Etymology: Fr idéologie: see ideo- & -logy

ideology Related Forms
i′deo·log′i·cal adjective or i′deo·log′ic i′deo·log′ically adverb i′deol′o·gist noun i′deol′o·gize′ transitive verb -·gized′, -·giz′·ing
ideology Synonyms

ideology

n.

beliefs, ideas, philosophy; see doctrine 1, faith 2.

ideology Usage Examples

Preposition: of

  • individualism: We repent that by confining the Spirit to the soul, we have justified the ideology of individualism.
  • Zionism: Jabotinsky tapped into this mood to build his movement and to articulate the ideology of Revisionist Zionism.
  • consumerism: The ideology of consumerism, with its emphasis on novelty, youth markets etc. , clearly lies just below the surface.
  • superiority: These are Western materialist consumerism, and its concomitant ideologies of the superiority of the new and the rejection of the old.
  • capitalism: However, the cultural and intellectual forms of the French Enlightenment are distinct from the ideologies of capitalism.

Converse of object

  • espouse: How can the state be racist and espouse an ideology of multiculturalism?
  • compete: Society is the scene of a constant battle for dominance by competing ideologies.
  • embrace: On the other hand, other West Coast ideologues have embraced the laissez-faire ideology of their erstwhile conservative enemy.

Adjective modifier

  • dominant: As in any attempt to change a dominant ideology, I expect there will be casualties.
  • bourgeois: It does not follow from this, however, that science is no more than bourgeois ideology.
  • Nazi: According to Nazi ideology racial struggle was the motive force of history.
  • neo-liberal: Chris Jones uncovers the hidden hand of neo-liberal ideology.
  • totalitarian: All totalitarian ideologies show a distinctive wish to control the time in which they exist.

Modifies a noun

  • critique: Third, the article concludes by building an incipient theory of ideology as utopia, or the utopian moment of ideology critique.

Noun used with modifier

  • supremacist: The whupping of White supremacist ideology by the triumphs of Black athletes, in particular boxers, vexed racists.
  • islamist: Specifically he urged instead an attack upon distorted Islamist ideology.
  • extremist: In his experience, once people were in the process of recruitment into extremist ideology it was near-impossible to reach them.
  • ruling: You might expect a writer like Adorno to throw his full weight behind the ruling ideology of his adopted country.
ideology Quotes

   We dislike the IRA, most of us, and fear it.We are a peaceful and democratic people.But our history, our idealistic pretensions and our fatal ambivalence have stuck us with an ideology that is warlike and anti- democratic, and calls increasingly for further human sacrifice.

—Oates,Joyce Carol

And what I've learned isnot to believe in magical leaders any more; that character and compassion are more important than ideology; and that even if it's absurd to think you can change things, it's even more absurd to think that it's foolish and unimportant to try.

—Newman, Peter C

The West has not lived through totalitarianism, with a single ideology for 70 years.We are escaping from the burden of the past, and onlyafter we have done that will we be ready to integrate with Europeöand Europe needs Russia.

—Yeltsin, Boris