Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

inner emigration

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.23 in modern English

Syllables: in-ner em-i-gra-tion
IPA

18

Scrabble Score

15

Letters

5

Syllables

9

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

The retreat to one's private life in the face of an oppressive state, instead of overt opposition or emigration to another country.

Uncountable

Example Sentences

"Many Easterners went into so-called “inner emigration”, withdrawing from a system whose ideological impulse had long faded."

Etymology

Calque of German innere Emigration, popularized by German writer Frank Thiess in his response to Thomas Mann's BBC broadcast, defending the choice of some German intellectuals to remain in Nazi Germany despite being opposed to Nazism.

Usage

Uncountable

Questions

What does inner emigration mean?: The retreat to one's private life in the face of an oppressive state, instead of overt opposition or emigration to another country.
Where does inner emigration come from?: Calque of German innere Emigration, popularized by German writer Frank Thiess in his response to Thomas Mann's BBC broadcast, defending the choice of some German intellectuals to remain in Nazi Germany despite being opposed to Nazism.

How to pronounce inner emigration

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