Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun Deliberately ambiguous and contradictory language used to mislead and manipulate the public.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A mode of talk by politicians and officials using ambiguous words to deceive the listener.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun deliberately ambiguous and contradictory language use to mislead and manipulate the public
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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Orwell coined the word newspeak, meaning common words having uncommon meaning.
Deane Waldman: July 4th Gift: Freedom from Newspeak, Scotoma, & Rose-Colored Glasses 2009
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Whereas the first article is just written in newspeak, yet coherent, the 2nd one is a mess …
Two Articles on Georgia Crisis Well Worth Reading « Antiwar.com Blog 2008
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Although I am almost certain newspeak for that stance is “support our troops”, and “collateral damage” …
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Most of all, we have the language -- the "newspeak" -- Orwell predicted.
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Most of all, we have the language -- the "newspeak" -- Orwell predicted.
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In its aid policy in Ethiopia, the U.S. seems to be more interested in generating "newspeak" and photo ops than producing the right results good governance.
Alemayehu G. Mariam: Reflections on Thanksgiving in America Alemayehu G. Mariam 2010
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Such is the "newspeak", the glossy, rose-colored narrative, of the U.S. aid bureaucracy.
Alemayehu G. Mariam: Reflections on Thanksgiving in America Alemayehu G. Mariam 2010
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Another Orwellian "newspeak" conclusion is that "the international community has been largely silent" about alleged Israeli abuses in the Gaza and the West Bank.
Alan Dershowitz: UN Investigation of Israel Discredits Itself and Undercuts Human Rights 2009
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In announcing the funding cut, Inouye's press release was a remarkable illustration of Orwellian "newspeak," ostensibly supporting the very opposite of what he was doing:
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The MSM just repeat each others "newspeak" equivalent over and over again, until everyone is stupid.
Oh, dear God ... CC 2008
treeseed commented on the word newspeak
Term coined by George Orwell in his dystopian novel 1984
January 25, 2008
sonofgroucho commented on the word newspeak
Newspeak was a brilliant concept. So much of what Orwell predicted seems familiar to me living in a 21st century so-called democracy.
January 25, 2008
uselessness commented on the word newspeak
George Orwell is a hero of mine. I'm always baffled by how everyone seems to know his work, and agree that it's a valuable warning for the future, and yet we continue to spiral into even greater Orwellian messes. How does that happen?
January 25, 2008
treeseed commented on the word newspeak
That, my dear uselessness, is the question of the hour.
January 25, 2008
reesetee commented on the word newspeak
I'm going to guess that it's because those who read and appreciate the message aren't necessarily those who are causing the Orwellian messes--or because those who are causing the Orwellian messes don't think it's them. Ah, human nature. *said sarcastically*
January 25, 2008
uselessness commented on the word newspeak
Too true. Humans would be a lot better off without human nature, wouldn't they?
January 25, 2008
reesetee commented on the word newspeak
Sometimes I actually wonder.
January 25, 2008