babbittry
1
9.9
- noun
- /ˈbæbɪtri/
- Offensive
:
conformismo burgués
- Babbittry often reflects a lack of creativity and an obsession with material wealth.
Examples
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Many criticize Babbittry for promoting conformity over individualism in society.
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Babbittry refers to the disease of conventionality and banality.
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This is still straight Babbittry.
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Disease, thy name is Babbittry.
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Babbittry is an old word but hardly a dead concept.
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The diagnosis of Babbittry entered our lexicon and stayed for half a century or so before fading away.
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But don’t cut Babbittry from our vocabulary quite yet.
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Babbittry eats at Babbitt's life not because he's boring, but because there's no control or independent intellectual force at work.
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Prior trends—the materialist democracy of Babbittry, the display as status—exaggerated and became the only viable means of identification aside from church islands.
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Ultimately, the sin of Babbittry relies on the social mores and manners of others—Babbitt doesn’t have a strong enough sense of his own self to defy that broader socially constructed set of values and meaning.
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Synonyms
19
5.8
Valuing money and things more than moral or spiritual life
A middle-class way of living that values comfort, being respected, and material things
How Materialistic
Surface Forms
Morphology
babbittry = babbitt (semi-transparent) = babbitt + ry
Formed from the name or noun 'babbitt' plus the suffix '-ry' meaning characteristic behavior; the morphological link is clear but understanding requires knowledge of the literary/cultural reference.
Etymology
Babbittry comes from the name Babbitt, the small-town businessman in Sinclair Lewis's novel who cared most about 'respect' and money rather than new ideas. So 'babbittry' means a narrow-minded, materialistic way of thinking and behaving.