Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

madman theory

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.21 in modern English

Syllables: mad-man the-o-ry
IPA

23

Scrabble Score

12

Letters

4

Syllables

10

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

An element of U.S. President Richard Nixon's foreign policy, by which Nixon was portrayed as irrational and volatile toward leaders of hostile Communist nations, with the aim of making them fearful of provoking the United States.

American usage

Example Sentences

"The template is [Richard] Nixon’s “madman theory” of diplomatic engagement – shorthand for prompting your adversaries to doubt your sanity and mental instability to the point where they are intimidated into otherwise unlikely concessions."

Usage

American usage

Questions

What does madman theory mean?: An element of U.S. President Richard Nixon's foreign policy, by which Nixon was portrayed as irrational and volatile toward leaders of hostile Communist nations, with the aim of making them fearful of provoking the United States.

How to pronounce madman theory

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