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whig
1[ hwig, wig ]
verb (used without object)
- to move along briskly.
Whig
2[ hwig, wig ]
noun
- American History.
- a member of the patriotic party during the Revolutionary period; supporter of the Revolution.
- a member of a political party (c1834–1855) that was formed in opposition to the Democratic Party, and favored economic expansion and a high protective tariff, while opposing the strength of the presidency in relation to the legislature.
- British Politics.
- a member of a major political party (1679–1832) in Great Britain that held liberal principles and favored reforms: later called the Liberal party.
- (in later use) one of the more conservative members of the Liberal party.
adjective
- being a Whig.
- of, relating to, or characteristic of the Whigs.
Whig
/ wɪɡ /
noun
- a member of the English political party or grouping that opposed the succession to the throne of James, Duke of York, in 1679–80 on the grounds that he was a Catholic. Standing for a limited monarchy, the Whigs represented the great aristocracy and the moneyed middle class for the next 80 years. In the late 18th and early 19th centuries the Whigs represented the desires of industrialists and Dissenters for political and social reform. The Whigs provided the core of the Liberal Party
- See Tory(in the US) a supporter of the War of American Independence Compare Tory
- a member of the American political party that opposed the Democrats from about 1834 to 1855 and represented propertied and professional interests
- a conservative member of the Liberal Party in Great Britain
- a person who advocates and believes in an unrestricted laissez-faire economy
- history a 17th-century Scottish Presbyterian, esp one in rebellion against the Crown
adjective
- of, characteristic of, or relating to Whigs
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Derived Forms
- ˈWhiggery, noun
- ˈWhiggishness, noun
- ˈWhiggish, adjective
- ˈWhiggishly, adverb
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Other Words From
- an·ti-Whig adjective
- pro-Whig adjective
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Word History and Origins
Origin of whig2
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Word History and Origins
Origin of whig1
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Example Sentences
To him, Churchill “was radical precisely because he was conservative” and “essentially a buccaneering Victorian Whig.”
The party splinters, and out of the wreckage a new center-right “Whig Party” emerges.
For the first time in a century and a half, the Whig Party has successfully elected a candidate.
No, not the GOP, but the Whig Party, the original party of Lincoln.
Other members of Whig-Clio have included Aaron Burr, Woodrow Wilson, Samuel Alito, and Mitch Daniels.
Does the experience of the last ten years justify the country in placing confidence, on such a point, in a Whig Ministry?
The paper war was almost entirely carried on between two sections of the Whig party.
Since his return from exile, his influence had been generally exerted in favour of the Whig party.
But the Whig chiefs were not men to be duped by the professions of so notorious a liar.
Vernon was a zealous Whig, and not personally unacceptable to the chiefs of his party.
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