Ideology

How to spell ideology

8 letters · 5 syllables

How to pronounce ideology

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does ideology mean?

1. nounA connected set of beliefs, values, and ideas that shape how a person or group views politics, economics, or society.

Ideology in a sentence

• The two parties clashed because each core ideology led in the opposite direction.

• The new manager rejected any ideology that put profit above staff welfare.

Where does ideology come from?

Language of origin: Greek

This word was coined in French as 'idéologie' in the closing years of the eighteenth century by the philosopher Antoine Destutt de Tracy, who used it for a proposed 'science of ideas' that would study how thoughts arise from sensations. He built it from two Greek pieces: 'idea', meaning a form, notion, or appearance of something (itself from a root meaning 'to see'), and the familiar ending '-logia', meaning the study or discourse about a subject. English adopted the French word in the early nineteenth century, around 1810, at first in that scholarly sense. Its meaning soon shifted to the more political one we use today: a connected system of beliefs and values held by a group or party. Napoleon helped sour the term by mocking his opponents as 'ideologues', which is part of why it carries a slightly critical edge even now. The spelling keeps the Greek-flavoured 'ideo-' opening, so the trap is remembering the second 'i' belongs to 'idea' before the 'ology' takes over.

How the word is built

• ideo- (from Greek idea: form, notion, appearance)
• -logy (from logos: word, study, discourse)