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privatistic

privatistic

8.9
Shows a focus on individual interests and personal ownership rather than shared public matters
  • adjective
  • /ˌpraɪvəˈtɪstɪk/
translation icon : privatista
  • The company's privatistic approach meant that it prioritized profit over community welfare.

Examples

  • Social consensus collapsed when the oil crisis of the mid-eighties made it difficult to hide class inequities and even more difficult to stem the tide of protests from those most affected by a state that claimed to be universalistic in its aims yet was privatistic in its practice: the urban, disenfranchised youth and women.

    Academic text (1998)
  • Scofield's 1909 edition focused on the public aspects of God's coming kingdom, while the 1967 edition is much more privatistic and individualistic in outlook.

    Academic text (2006)
  • Many people criticize the privatistic tendencies of society that ignore collective well-being.

  • Her privatistic views often led her to prioritize personal gain above public good.

Synonyms

private-enterprise
vsprivatistic
1 6.1

Relating to businesses owned and run by people or companies to make profit, not the state

focuses on personal life and interests not only economic systems
proprietarian
vsprivatistic
  • Formal
9.9

Supporting private ownership as central to society and the economy

emphasizes personal interests and life rather than only ownership focus

Antonyms

1.0

Open or available to everyone, not private

240 3.9

Shared by all members of a group acting together

How Private

privatistic
8.9
private
1.8
public
1.0

Surface Forms

privatistic positive

Morphology

privatistic = private (transparent) = privat + istic

Standard adjectival formation from 'private' with orthographic loss of final 'e', yielding 'relating to private matters'.

Etymology

Privatistic comes from the root privat- ('private') and the ending -istic ('relating to'), and it is directly linked to the common word private. So, a privatistic attitude focuses on private life or private gain instead of the public good, like someone who keeps things behind a closed door.