Definition: Materialism is the importance placed on material possessions. Someone with a high level of materialism, described as "materialistic," considers material possessions to be central to their life and their identity, and focuses a good deal of their energy on acquiring possessions. Someone with a low level of materialism, described as "non-materialistic," or "not materialistic," does not consider acquiring possessions to be particularly important, although they vary in the extent to which they acquire material possessions in order to meet other objectives, such as social acceptance.
Pronunciation: mat-ear-E-al-is-tik
Also Known As: worldly, acquisitive, greedy, grasping
Examples:
Joan was very materialistic, and quickly ran into debt after losing her job because she was unable to control her spending.
