Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The theory that value judgments, as of truth, beauty, or morality, have no universal validity but are valid only for the persons or groups holding them.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The philosophical doctrine of the relativity of knowledge. See relativity.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun uncountable, philosophy The theory, especially in ethics or aesthetics, that conceptions of truth and moral values are not absolute but are relative to the persons or groups holding them.
  • noun countable, philosophy A specific such theory, advocated by a particular philosopher or school of thought.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun (philosophy) the philosophical doctrine that all criteria of judgment are relative to the individuals and situations involved

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From relative +‎ -ism.

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