Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

manchurian candidate

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.61 in modern English

Syllables: manchuri-an -can-di-date
IPA

30

Scrabble Score

19

Letters

5

Syllables

11

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A person of influence, especially a politician, who is being manipulated by an enemy power to harm the interests of their own country, possibly without their own full awareness.

Example Sentences

"Get outta my head 'cause I don't need this! Why didn't I see this? I'm a victim Manchurian Candidate I have sinned by just Making my mind up and taking your breath away"
"The attacks, mainly anonymous e-mails, have woven together various threads […] to portray Obama as the Muslim Manchurian candidate."
"Most of the conspiracies covered in this book are different. […"

Etymology

From the title of the 1959 novel or 1962 film The Manchurian Candidate, in which the son of a prominent US political family is brainwashed into being an unwitting assassin for a communist conspiracy. First known generic use in 1970.

Inflected Forms

Manchurian candidates (plural)

Questions

What does manchurian candidate mean?: A person of influence, especially a politician, who is being manipulated by an enemy power to harm the interests of their own country, possibly without their own full awareness.
Where does manchurian candidate come from?: From the title of the 1959 novel or 1962 film The Manchurian Candidate, in which the son of a prominent US political family is brainwashed into being an unwitting assassin for a communist conspiracy. First known generic use in 1970.

How to pronounce manchurian candidate

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