Meaning of declinism | Babel Free

Definitions

A pessimistic belief that things are in decline.

uncountable

Examples

“Scholars point⟳ out that strains of declinism can be found in most eras of history, which raises the question⟳, is it logically possible for the world to be going to hell interminably — to be endlessly on its way to hell, ever worse than before, and ever better at each earlier epoch?”

“Laudably, he [Cullen Murphy] ends on some optimistic notes, and some prescriptions, rather than wallowing in declinism.”

“So maybe declinism is just a quirk of human psychology.”

“Instead, declinism ruled—the belief that Britain was in a state of terminal, irreversible decline⟳ being widely shared, and—as glam has demonstrated—frequently and forcibly expressed.”

“The chancellor came to Bloomberg’s HQ in the City of London on Friday seeking to raise⟳ the country’s spirits, hail the split⟳ with Brussels and dispel the “declinism” he says saps Britain’s energy.”

CEFR level