manichaean
/ˌmænɪˈkiːən/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.81 in modern English
17
Scrabble Score
10
Letters
1
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A follower of Manichaeism.
adj
Of or relating to Manichaeism.
adj
Of or concerning a Manichaean.
adj
Of or relating to a worldview of distinct good and evil, especially to the exclusion of other possible categories.
Example Sentences
- "Through them passed not only the traders of the Silk Route[…] but also lone Buddhist monks carrying precious cargoes of scrolls in their backpacks, white-robed Manichean sages from Iran and austere Nestorian clerics who founded Christian monasteries even in remote Tibet."
- "Detractors of Mr. Nixon will decry the book's [1999: Victory Without War] obsession with potency and winning[…] as well as with a Manichaean view of a world that he sees as divided between the bad Soviet Union and the good United States."
- "Barack Obama spoke of a world without these Manichean dualities. He dismissed the notion of “red” and “blue” America."
- "Once again, we see a Manichean world not unlike that of conspiracists: you can be good or you can be evil."
Etymology
Etymology tree English Manichaeus Proto-Indo-European *-nós Proto-Italic *-nos Proto-Italic *-ānos Latin -ānus Old French -ainder. Middle English -an English -an English Manichaean From Manichaeus + -an.