Definitions

1. noun

A person who believes that abstract concepts, such as universals and numbers, are mere names or labels, and have no real existence.

“The philosopher was a staunch nominalist, rejecting the idea of Platonic forms.”

2. noun

A person who holds that only individual things exist, and that general terms are merely names for collections of individuals.

“The nominalist approach to language emphasizes the importance of concrete instances over abstract categories.”

3. adjective

Relating to or characterized by nominalism.

“The nominalist interpretation of quantum mechanics has been influential in recent years.”