Meaning & use
stoicism
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Meanings
noununcountable
The habit of accepting pain, loss or difficulty calmly, without complaining or showing strong feeling.
Grammar: No plural or a: she faced it with stoicism.
Patterns
- with stoicism
He bore the long illness with remarkable stoicism.
The villagers showed quiet stoicism after the flood.
Her stoicism hid how much she was hurting.
noununcountabletechnical
An ancient Greek and Roman philosophy teaching that people should accept what they cannot control and live by reason and virtue.
Grammar: Usually capitalized: Stoicism.
Stoicism teaches that happiness comes from within.
She wrote an essay on Roman Stoicism.
Common combinations
- quiet stoicism
- They faced hardship with quiet stoicism.
- face with stoicism
- He faced the news with stoicism.
- admire stoicism
- We admired her stoicism under pressure.
- ancient Stoicism
- Ancient Stoicism influenced many leaders.
Synonyms and how they differ
- fortitude
- Stresses inner strength to endure, rather than lack of outward emotion.
- resilience
- Focuses on recovering after difficulty, while stoicism is about enduring it calmly.
- impassiveness
- Describes a blank, unmoved manner, and can sound cold.
- forbearance
- Formal; patient self-control, especially when provoked.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: stoicism or apathy?
stoicism vs apathy
Apathy is not caring at all; stoicism means feeling things but enduring without showing it.
Practice
'She accepted the bad news with stoicism.' What does this show?
Choose one answer.
Stoicism means enduring difficulty calmly and without complaint. The other options show strong emotion or denial.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “stoicism”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.