perfectibilistn.
/pəˈfɛktᵻbᵻlɪst/, U.S. /pərˈfɛktəbələst/ A person who believes in the perfectibility of something, esp. human nature; spec. a member of the Illuminati (illuminati n. b). Cf. perfectibilism n.The Order of the Illuminati founded by Adam Weishaupt in 1776 was previously known (amongst other names) as the Order of the Perfectibilists (see quot. 1798).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > expectation > hope > doctrine of human perfectibility > [noun] > believer in
perfective1602
perfectionist1653
perfectibilist1798
perfectibilian1816
perfectibilarian1852
perfectibilitarian1873
perfectabilitarian1930
1798 W. Taylor in Monthly Rev. 27 513 Weishaupt..had originally intended for them [sc. the Illuminés] the name of Perfectibilists; in order perpetually to remind them that the progressive perfecting of society was the aim and end of their confraternity.
1883 Sat. Rev. 8 Dec. 725/1 We are in rebus snobbicis at any rate perfectibilists. The snob of this generation..is a much more odious reptile than he of the last.
1906 Edinb. Rev. July 49 In 1776 the order of Perfectibilists was established... The organisation of the Perfectibilists was designed to enlist all professions and both sexes.
1971 Nature 19 Feb. 576/1 This leaves the mystical and also the political perfectibilist without his old scientific ground to stand on.
1992 A. Arblaster Viva la Libertà! i. 38 The leader of the Illuminati was Adam Weishaupt, who in 1776 founded a secret order called the Perfectibilists.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2005; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1798