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neocon

neocon

33 9.6
A politician or thinker who supports strong military action abroad and free markets
  • noun
  • /ˈniːoʊˌkɒn/
  • Literature
translation icon : neoconservador
  • Look what happened to the tea party: the neocons hijacked it because most tea partiers are neocons.

And the neocons that informed the ideology, the foreign policy of George W Bush didn't care.

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Examples

  • You're making the same mistake that the Neocons made: Middle Easterners aren't Americans.

    Blog text (6)
  • The new senator is viewed as a neocon due to his support for aggressive foreign policies.

  • But he has all these "neocon advisors" who know all the wrong things about foreign policy.

    Blog text (6)
  • If we believe the neocons, it will result in disaster for this nation.

    Blog text (1)
  • And, you know, neocons have never had a good answer to that girl, and they don't now.

  • A qualification: the neocons are actually less bad on this issue than leading Republican politicians.

    Blog text (4)
  • But it was akin to things that had been advocated by some neocon writers, myself included, for many years.

    Academic text (2011)
  • So all these militarists, these traditional, you know, kind of neoliberal neocons are coming back into power.

  • Many neocons argue that a strong military presence is necessary for national security.

  • During the debate, the candidate identified himself as a neocon, emphasizing his commitment to free-market principles.

Synonyms

neoconservative
vsneocon
  • Literature
11 8.8

A person who supports strong government, military action abroad and traditional social values

emphasizes free-market capitalism and intellectual political advocacy rather than strong domestic authority

Antonyms

11 7.6

Wanting a country to stay out of other countries' affairs

Surface Forms

neocon singular
neocons plural

Morphology

neocon = neoconservative (semi-transparent) = neo + conservative + neo

The form is a clipped shortening of 'neoconservative' (neo- + conservative), so the structure is clear, but the meaning is specialized political jargon and not fully predictable for general learners.

Etymology

Neocon is short for neo- 'new' and conservative. It began as a name for people who became 'new conservatives', so neocon today usually means someone who favors a stronger, more active foreign policy and support for free markets.