bien pensant
See also: bien-pensant
English
Alternative forms
- bien-pensant
Etymology
Borrowed from French bien-pensant (literally “well-thinking”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˌbjæ̃ pɒ̃ˈsɒ̃/
Adjective
bien pensant (comparative more bien pensant, superlative most bien pensant)
- Right-thinking, orthodox, conformist.
- 2010, Bagehot, The Economist, 23 Aug 2010:
- 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:
- 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.
- 2010, Bagehot, The Economist, 23 Aug 2010:
Noun
bien 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
Adjective
bien pensant (feminine singular bien pensante, masculine plural bien pensants, feminine plural bien pensantes)
- Alternative spelling of bien-pensant
Noun
bien pensant m (plural bien pensants)
- Alternative spelling of bien-pensant