vansittartism means strong opposition to appeasement of the Germans during or after World War II. It carries an Arena rating of 1157, earned across 8 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, vansittartism ranks #1,098 of 17,128 for Most Ponderous Words, #1,927 of 17,149 for Most Exacting Words, #3,448 of 17,138 for Most Incisive Words, #3,493 of 17,104 for Most Storied Words.
Why “vansittartism” is a great word
A doctrine advocating unyielding resistance to Germany, premised on the belief in an innate and immutable German national character bent on militaristic aggression. From the surname Vansittart (after Robert Vansittart, 1st Baron Vansittart, a chief diplomatic adviser to the British government) + the suffix -ism (denoting a distinctive doctrine or practice). First attested in 1941. Unlike 'appeasement,' which seeks to placate an aggressor with concessions, or 'revanchism,' which is fueled by a specific territorial loss, Vansittartism is a doctrine of immutable, anthropological suspicion. It is the steel filing cabinet in the Foreign Office, locked against all hopeful dispatches; the weary, unblinking eye that sees in every Prussian parade the ghost of Sedan; the bitter acceptance that some rivers of history—swollen with blood and iron—cannot be rerouted, only dammed and watched forever.
Etymology
From Vansittart + -ism, after Robert Vansittart, 1st Baron Vansittart, who held such views.
noun
- Strong opposition to appeasement of the Germans during or after World War II.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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