Nearby Words

un-American

[uhn-uh-mer-i-kuhn] Origin

un-A·mer·i·can

[uhn-uh-mer-i-kuhn]
adjective
not American; not characteristic of or proper to the U.S.; foreign or opposed to the characters, values, standards, goals, etc., of the U.S.

Origin:
1810–20, Americanism

un-A·mer·i·can·ism, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Un-american has a plethora of syllables.
So is pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis. Does it mean:
an obscure term ostensibly referring to a lung disease caused by silica dust, sometimes cited as one of the longest words in the English language.
a white, crystalline, water-insoluble solid, C14H9Cl5, usually derived from chloral by reaction with chlorobenzene in the presence of fuming sulfuric acid: used as an insecticide and as a scabicide and pediculicide: agricultural use prohibited in the U.S.
Collins
World English Dictionary
un-American
 
adj
1.  not in accordance with the aims, ideals, customs, etc, of the US
2.  against the interests of the US
 
un-A'mericanism
 
n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

un-American
1818, from un- (1) "not" + American (see America).
EXPAND
"Everything is un-American that tends either to government by a plutocracy or government by a mob." [Theodore Roosevelt, 1917]
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Cultural Dictionary

un-American definition


A term used, primarily by extreme conservatives, to attack principles or practices considered to be at odds with the values of most Americans. Many object to the use of the term on the grounds that it is vague, shortsighted, and intolerant.

Note: The House of Representatives maintained a Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC) for several years. It was especially known for investigation of alleged communists. (See Alger Hiss.)
The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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