Gutmensch

See also: gutmensch

German

Etymology

gut (“good”) +‎ Mensch (“person”)

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈɡuːtˌmɛnʃ/
  • Audio(file)

Noun

Gutmensch m (genitive Gutmenschen, plural Gutmenschen)

  1. (derogatory) do-gooder; person who has a naïve and unreflected conviction of their own moral superiority
  2. (derogatory, in particular) someone overly concerned with political correctness

Usage notes

  • In contrast to the compound Gutmensch, the noun phrase (ein) guter Mensch means “a good person, someone of moral integrity” in the literal, positive sense.
  • In contemporary German discourse, the word Gutmensch is most often associated with adherents of the postmaterialist middle-class left, though this is not a property of the word as such.

Declension

Descendants

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