hollanditis
/hɑlænˈdaɪtɪs/
hollanditis means opposition to nuclear proliferation and the deployment of American nuclear weapons in Western Europe, especially in reference to the Netherlands. It carries an Arena rating of 1420, earned across 3 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, hollanditis ranks #6 of 13,225 for Most Betrayed by Its Sound, #256 of 13,225 for Most Storied Words, #1,350 of 13,225 for Most Incisive Words, #2,043 of 13,225 for Funniest Words.
hollanditis is pronounced /hɑlænˈdaɪtɪs/.
Why “hollanditis” is a great word
A political malady of widespread opposition to the deployment of American nuclear weapons in Western Europe, most acutely observed in the Netherlands in the early 1980s. From Holland (a common pars pro toto for the Netherlands) + -itis (suffix denoting an inflammatory disease, used figuratively to indicate a harmful condition or obsession), coined in 1981 by the historian and political commentator Walter Laqueur. Unlike ‘pacifism,’ a broad ethical stance against all violence, or ‘anti-Americanism,’ a diffuse cultural hostility, Hollanditis was a specific, febrile response to a singular Cold War policy. It was the chill of dread at a missile convoy rolling through a Dutch village, the heated murmur of a million-strong demonstration in The Hague, and the clammy conviction that the shield had become the target—a national mood where the logic of deterrence collapsed into the raw fear of annihilation.
Etymology
From Holland + -itis (fictional disease suffix), coined in 1981 by Walter Laqueur.
noun
- Opposition to nuclear proliferation and the deployment of American nuclear weapons in Western Europe, especially in reference to the Netherlands.
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