/es thet"euh siz'euhm/ or, esp. Brit., /ees-/ , n.
1. the acceptance of artistic beauty and taste as a fundamental standard, ethical and other standards being secondary.
2. an exaggerated devotion to art, music, or poetry, with indifference to practical matters.
3. a late Victorian movement in British and American art characterized by a dedicatedly eclectic search for beauty and by an interest in old English, Japanese, and classical art.
Also, estheticism .
[ 1855-60; AESTHETIC + -ISM ]