Hypertext Webster Gateway: "utilitarian"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Utilitarian \U*til`i*ta"ri*an\, a. [See {Utility}.]
1. Of or pertaining to utility; consisting in utility; ?iming
at utility as distinguished from beauty, ornament, etc.;
sometimes, reproachfully, evincing, or characterized by, a
regard for utility of a lower kind, or marked by a sordid
spirit; as, utilitarian narrowness; a utilitarian
indifference to art.
2. Of or pertaining to utilitarianism; supporting
utilitarianism; as, the utilitarian view of morality; the
Utilitarian Society. --J. S. Mill.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Utilitarian \U*til`i*ta"ri*an\, n.
One who holds the doctrine of utilitarianism.
The utilitarians are for merging all the particular
virtues into one, and would substitute in their place
the greatest usefulness, as the alone principle to
which every question respecting the morality of actions
should be referred. --Chalmers.
But what is a utilitarian? Simply one who prefers the
useful to the useless; and who does not? --Sir W.
Hamilton.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
utilitarian
adj 1: having a useful function; "utilitarian steel tables" [syn: {useful}]
2: having utility often to the exclusion of values; "plain
utilitarian kitchenware"
n : someone who believes that the value of a thing depends on
its utility
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