[syn: sensualism, sensationalism]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Sensualism \Sen"su*al*ism\, n. [Cf. F. sensualisme.]
1. The condition or character of one who is sensual;
subjection to sensual feelings and appetite; sensuality.
[1913 Webster]
2. (Philos.) The doctrine that all our ideas, or the
operations of the understanding, not only originate in
sensation, but are transformed sensations, copies or
relics of sensations; sensationalism; sensism.
[1913 Webster]
3. (Ethics) The regarding of the gratification of the senses
as the highest good. --Krauth-Fleming.
[1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
sensualism
n 1: desire for sensual pleasures [syn: sensuality,
sensualness, sensualism]
2: (philosophy) the ethical doctrine that feeling is the only
criterion for what is good [syn: sensualism,
sensationalism]