nominalism

noun

The doctrine holding that abstract concepts, general terms, or universals have no independent existence but exist only as names.

noun

The doctrine that nothing is general but names; more specifically, the doctrine that common nouns, as man, horse, represent in their generality nothing in the real things, but are mere conveniences for speaking of many things at once, or at most necessities of human thought; individualism. ,

noun

The principles or philosophy of the Nominalists.

noun

A doctrine that universals do not have an existence except as names for classes of concrete objects.

noun

(philosophy) the doctrine that the various objects labeled by the same term have nothing in common but their name