utilitarian
adjective · noun
Simple meaning
Of or relating to utility.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
yootihluhtehreeuhnSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
jutɪləˈtɛɹiən
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
adjective
Practical and functional, present for use, not just for show.
Of or relating to utility.
ethics
Pertaining to utilitarianism.
noun
Someone who believes that the value of a thing depends on its utility
“As a utilitarian, she judged each proposal by its practical benefits.”
Someone who practices or advocates utilitarianism.
Word at a Glance
- Frequency
- Uncommon
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Practical and functional, present for use, not just for show.
Used this way, utilitarian is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: someone who believes that the value of a thing depends on its utility
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.