Materialism describes the belief that buying and having possessions is not just important, but a key to happiness in life, like the people whose materialism has so clouded their minds that they are more interested in your clothes and shoes than in what you are saying.
Materialism has the word material in it. What is material? Well, it's stuff — anything you can see and touch, like a pile of books or a big, green lawn. To be material, a thing has to have physical form, unlike emotions, beliefs, deep conversations, thoughts. So materialism means putting all importance on stuff. Someone who suffers from materialism would rather be out spending money than spending time with loved ones.
