Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

humpty dumptyism

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 0.00 in modern English

Syllables
hump-ty -dump-ty-ism
IPA
35
Scrabble Score
15
Letters
5
Syllables
9
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

The practice of insisting that a word means whatever one wishes it to.

Uncountable

Example Sentences

Etymology

From Humpty Dumpty + -ism, after the fictional character in Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking-Glass, who, when asked what he means by glory, replies, "I meant 'there's a nice knock-down argument for you!'" Alice protests that this isn't the meaning of glory and Humpty Dumpty replies, "When I use a word, it means just what I choose it to mean——neither more nor less."

Word Breakdown

Usage

Inflected Forms

Humpty-Dumptyism (alternative)

Phrases

Humpty Dumptyish Humpty Dumpty word

Frequently Paired Words

Humpty Dumptyish Humpty Dumpty word Pickwickian

Questions

What does humpty dumptyism mean?
The practice of insisting that a word means whatever one wishes it to.
Where does humpty dumptyism come from?
From Humpty Dumpty + -ism, after the fictional character in Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking-Glass, who, when asked what he means by glory, replies, "I meant 'there's a nice knock-down argument for you!'" Alice protests that this isn't the meaning of glory and Humpty Dumpty replies, "When I use a word, it means just what I choose it to mean——neither more nor less."

How to pronounce humpty dumptyism

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