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politically correct

adj

Etymology

The earliest known attestation occurs in the United States in the late 18th century, in response to a toast made to the United States instead of to the people of the United States. In the early twentieth century the term was associated with the dogmatic application of Stalinist and Communist Party doctrine, and later popularized by Mao Zedong in his essay Where Do Correct Ideas Come From?(1963) which equated “correct” with “the disciplined acceptance of a party line”. In the 1970s it was adopted by wider left-wing politics. The first known use in this sense was by Toni Cade in her anthology The Black Woman (1970). It was subsequently used in a statement by Karen DeCrow in December 1975 in her capacity as president of the National Organization for Women. In the 1980s it acquired the pejorative sense when used to mock conformist liberal academics, their stereotypical political views and alleged attempts to control language.

Definitions

  1. Possessing or conforming to the correct political positions

    Possessing or conforming to the correct political positions; following the official policies of the government or a political party.

    • I am here to tell you that we are going to do those things which need to be done, not because they are politically correct, but because they are right. We are going to pass a civil rights bill if it takes all summer.

  2. Sensitive to giving offense on the grounds of race, sex, etc.

    • A man cannot be politically correct and a chauvinist too.

  3. Stereotypically left-wing

    Stereotypically left-wing; possessing or conforming to stereotypical left-wing social views.

    • From foie gras produced without making birds suffer to "sustainable" fish, British retailers and restaurants are fast embracing politically correct food, helped by celebrity-fuelled pressure.
  4. ›+ 2 more definitions

    1. To modify in a way that is considered more respectful to minorities.

      • There is nothing new or progressive in the politically corrected vocabularies that now amuse the prejudiced.
      • Yet we follow McIntyre into the jungles as eagerly as if we were children lost in an adventure novel by (a politically corrected) H. Rider Haggard.

    2. To modify in a way that conforms more to the official position of a government or…

      To modify in a way that conforms more to the official position of a government or political party.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for politically correct. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA