Other forms: ideologies
An ideology is a connected set of beliefs about how society should work. Political ideology, driven by ideology, an ideology of the left.
It is usually applied to other people's beliefs rather than one's own — everybody else has an ideology and you have principles, which is much of how the word is used. It implies a system rather than scattered opinions. Note ideologue, which is always hostile; and that the word was coined in 1796 for the science of ideas and was turned into an insult by Napoleon.
1nounideologyA connected set of beliefs about how society should work.
“The party's ideology holds that the state should own the railways and the banks.”
ideology is a system of belief.
French idéologie was coined in 1796 by Destutt de Tracy for the science of ideas. Napoleon used ideologue as a term of contempt, and the hostile flavour has never left.
French
idéologie
English, today
ideology
French idéologie, from idéo- + -logie (equivalent to English ideo- + -logy). Cognate with, but not derived from, idea. Coined 1796 by Antoine Destutt de Tracy. Modern sense of “doctrine” attributed to use of related idéologue (“ideologue”) by Napoleon Bonaparte as a term of abuse towards political opponents in early 1800s.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA