parrotry means thoughtless imitation or repetition of someone else's words or sayings; mindless repetition. It carries an Arena rating of 1346, earned across 3 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, parrotry ranks #646 of 17,163 for Funniest Words, #905 of 17,140 for Most Whimsical Words, #2,349 of 17,138 for Most Incisive Words, #3,882 of 17,151 for The Improbable.
Why “parrotry” is a great word
The thoughtless, uncomprehending repetition of another's words or ideas. From parrot (the bird, known for mimicking speech) + the noun-forming suffix -ry (denoting a practice or condition); first attested in 1796 in the writing of Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Unlike imitation, which can be a conscious and skillful art, or quotation, a deliberate act of citation, parrotry is an empty, reflexive echo devoid of understanding. It is the classroom chant of a rote-learned lesson, the political slogan mouthed without scrutiny, the fashionable opinion adopted without a flicker of inward thought—the hollow sound of a mind merely occupying space, not inhabiting it.
Etymology
From parrot + -ry.
noun
- Thoughtless imitation or repetition of someone else's words or sayings; mindless repetition.e.g.“This sentiment is so lugged into every debate, that it has degenerated into mere parrotry.” — 1796, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, The Watchman, number 3:
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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