bien pensant
See also: bien-pensant
English
editAlternative forms
editEtymology
editBorrowed from French bien-pensant (literally “well-thinking”).
Pronunciation
editAdjective
editbien pensant (comparative more bien pensant, superlative most bien pensant)
- Right-thinking, orthodox, conformist.
- 2010 August 23, Bagehot, The Economist:
- He hopes Mr Abbott wins the election in part because it would, he says, annoy bien-pensant British journalists and Leftists who oppose the Australian's positions on things like abortion, gay marriage or climate change.
- 2017 March 13, Will Hutton, “Utopia for Realists: And How We Can Get There by Rutger Bregman – review”, in The Guardian[1]:
- My biggest beef is the idea that increasingly grips liberal thinkers desperate for anything radical – the concept of a universal income for all. Financially, behaviourally and organisationally bonkers, this idea is gaining traction on the bien pensant left.
Noun
editbien pensant (plural bien pensants)
- A person who is bien pensant.
- Someone who accepts and/or espouses a fashionable idea after it has been established and maintains it without a great amount of critical thought.
French
editPronunciation
editAudio: (file)
Adjective
editbien pensant (feminine bien pensante, masculine plural bien pensants, feminine plural bien pensantes)
- Alternative spelling of bien-pensant
Noun
editbien pensant m (plural bien pensants)
- Alternative spelling of bien-pensant
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