characterized by materialism the belief that all action, thought and feeling can be explained by the movements and changes of matter. This wave of barbarism has arrived on the heels of materialistic science.based on the opinion that only physical matter exists.characterized by materialism the belief that all action, thought and feeling can be explained by the movements and changes of matter.markedly more concerned with material things than with spiritual, intellectual or cultural values.of or concerning the opinion that only physical matter exists.