essentialism
noun
es·sen·tial·ism i-ˈsen(t)-shə-ˌli-zəm 
1
: an educational theory that ideas and skills basic to a culture should be taught to all alike by time-tested methods compare progressivism
2
: a philosophical theory ascribing ultimate reality to essence embodied in a thing perceptible to the senses compare nominalism
3
: the practice of regarding something (such as a presumed human trait) as having innate existence or universal validity rather than as being a social, ideological, or intellectual construct
essentialist
i-ˈsen(t)-shə-list
adjective or noun 
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web One of the most important practical applications of essentialism is being able to pivot quickly. 
Marianella Manzur, Forbes, 6 July 2022 The ire towards Midler was especially intense as such hand-wringing about gender-neutral language is often a hallmark of the gender essentialism that defines the anti-trans and trans-exclusionary feminist movements. Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 6 July 2022 Communities of color have always have to deal with this essentialism when one of our own commits a massacre. Los Angeles Times, 25 May 2022 Passages like this one, which directly contradict their characterization of the book’s alleged determinism, reductionism, and essentialism, are easy to find! Jessica Riskin, The New York Review of Books, 21 Apr. 2022 This belief in essences, called essentialism, is compellingly intuitive. Lisa Feldman Barrett, Scientific American, 27 Apr. 2022 There was also a lot of blather about that season's philosophical earworms, from cancel culture to gender essentialism. Virginia Heffernan, Wired, 31 Mar. 2022 Now, in the shadow of electrification, Lotus’s lo-fi essentialism has become quite chic and collectible. Dan Neil, WSJ, 11 Mar. 2022 At the very least, Yellowjackets—a superb Showtime thriller that riffs on Flies without repeating it—suggests the author’s benevolent gender essentialism might have been a mistake. Judy Berman, Time, 5 Nov. 2021 See More
Marianella Manzur, Forbes, 6 July 2022 The ire towards Midler was especially intense as such hand-wringing about gender-neutral language is often a hallmark of the gender essentialism that defines the anti-trans and trans-exclusionary feminist movements. Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 6 July 2022 Communities of color have always have to deal with this essentialism when one of our own commits a massacre. Los Angeles Times, 25 May 2022 Passages like this one, which directly contradict their characterization of the book’s alleged determinism, reductionism, and essentialism, are easy to find! Jessica Riskin, The New York Review of Books, 21 Apr. 2022 This belief in essences, called essentialism, is compellingly intuitive. Lisa Feldman Barrett, Scientific American, 27 Apr. 2022 There was also a lot of blather about that season's philosophical earworms, from cancel culture to gender essentialism. Virginia Heffernan, Wired, 31 Mar. 2022 Now, in the shadow of electrification, Lotus’s lo-fi essentialism has become quite chic and collectible. Dan Neil, WSJ, 11 Mar. 2022 At the very least, Yellowjackets—a superb Showtime thriller that riffs on Flies without repeating it—suggests the author’s benevolent gender essentialism might have been a mistake. Judy Berman, Time, 5 Nov. 2021 See More Word History
First Known Use
1927, in the meaning defined at sense 1