Improvement

views updated May 14 2018

219. Improvement

Couéism
a method of self-help stressing autosuggestion, introduced into America about 1920 by the French psychotherapist Emile Coué and featuring the slogan Every day in every way I am getting better and better.
eugenics
the science of improving a breed or species through the careful selection of parents. eugenicist , n. eugenic , adj.
euthenics
the art or science of improving a race or breed, especially the human race, by control of external influences, as environment. Cf. eugenics. euthenist , n.
meliorism
the doctrine that the world tends to get better or may be made better by human effort. meliorist , n., adj. melioristic , adj.
telesia, telesis
the harnessing of natural and social forces for a beneficial goal.

improvement

views updated May 23 2018

im·prove·ment / imˈproōvmənt/ • n. an example or instance of improving or being improved: an improvement in East–West relations. ∎  the action of improving or being improved: there's still room for improvement. ∎  a thing that makes something better or is better than something else: home improvements it's an improvement on the last cake I made.