politically incorrect
19
6.5
- adjective
- /pəˈlɪtɪkli ɪnˈkərekt/
- NSFW
:
políticamente incorrecto
- The comedian often faced criticism for his politically incorrect jokes that some found offensive.
And if it's politically incorrect to read it, it's crazy.
- And if it's politically incorrect to read it, it's crazy.
- So at the risk of being politically incorrect, I trained.
- He's staking out positions that are extremely politically incorrect in many ways, yet are sensible and that he thinks them through.
- What used to be called before it became politically incorrect? Idiot
Examples
-
Most importantly, he develops politically incorrect theories on socially sensitive topics.
Academic text (1991) -
Besides, it's politically incorrect to make fun of men for wearing wigs.
Fiction book (1998) -
And if it's politically incorrect to read it, it's crazy.
-
So when I was doing politically incorrect, he became a big fan.
-
Somebody said something politically incorrect.
-
We need to risk being politically incorrect at times, in the best possible ways.
Academic text (2016) -
But none of these give the real reason because it is politically incorrect to say so.
Blog text (16) -
It's a topic that everyone sees, but it's just politically incorrect to point it out.
Blog text (12) -
For example, it would probably be politically incorrect to say that you thought Shakespeare was the greatest of poets.
Academic text (1992) -
Listen to Jindal; it is politically incorrect to criticize the way we campaign.
Blog text (28)
Synonyms
261
4.0
Likely to make people angry or upset
2
6.6
Very rude and likely to make people feel angry or hurt
Antonyms
57
4.2
To avoid words and actions that might offend or exclude people who face unfair treatment
How Politically Correct
88
4.1
57
4.2
218
3.6
124
4.6
- NSFW
19
6.5
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is partly compositional: a learner can infer that something is 'incorrect' in a political or social sense from 'politically' + 'incorrect'. However, the full pragmatic meaning — that the language or behaviour offends or violates norms of 'political correctness' and targets sensitive social groups — relies on cultural/political knowledge and is not fully predictable from the constituent words alone.
Etymology
Politically incorrect comes from talking about which words or actions are politically seen as 'correct' to avoid hurting groups; someone who is incorrect in this way breaks those social rules and may offend or exclude people, so the phrase means 'likely to offend or exclude'.