Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

bien pensant

/ˌbyɛn pɛnˈsɑnt/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 0.00 in modern English

Syllables: bi-en pen-sant
IPA: /ˌbyɛn pɛnˈsɑnt/

15

Scrabble Score

11

Letters

3

Syllables

8

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Right-thinking; orthodox, conformist.

noun

A person who is bien pensant.

noun

Someone who accepts and/or espouses a fashionable idea after it has been established and maintains it without a great amount of critical thought.

Example Sentences

"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."
"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."
"Near-synonyms: follower, believer, conformist"

Etymology

Borrowed from French bien-pensant (literally “well-thinking”).

Origin

Source language: French

Word Breakdown

Root: bien-pensant

Inflected Forms

more bien pensant (comparative) most bien pensant (superlative) bien-pensant (alternative) bien pensants (plural)

Synonyms

follower believer conformist

Questions

How do you pronounce bien pensant?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˌbyɛn pɛnˈsɑnt/.
What does bien pensant mean?: Right-thinking; orthodox, conformist.
Where does bien pensant come from?: It is traced to French.

How to pronounce bien pensant

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “bien pensant”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˌbyɛn pɛnˈsɑnt/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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