ma ‧ te ‧ ri ‧ al ‧ is ‧ m /məˈtɪəriəlɪz ə m $ -ˈtɪr-/ BrE AmE noun [uncountable]
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ material , ↑ materialism , ↑ materialist , MATERIALS , ↑ materialization ; adjective : ↑ material , ↑ immaterial , ↑ materialistic , ↑ materialist ; adverb : ↑ materialistically , ↑ materially ; verb : ↑ materialize ]
1 . the belief that money and possessions are more important than art, religion, moral beliefs etc – used in order to show disapproval:
a reaction to a world full of shallow materialism
2 . the belief that only physical things really exist
—materialist adjective :
materialist philosophy
—materialist noun [countable] :
We confess to being hopeless materialists, surrounded by our own neat stuff.