wrongthink

English

Etymology

Compound of wrong +‎ think, probably modelled on earlier crimethink from George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four.

Noun

wrongthink (uncountable)

1. Beliefs or opinions that run contrary to the prevailing or mainstream orthodoxy.

   Synonyms: badthink, crimethink

   • 1979, Joan Didion, The White Album:

     In other words I spent yesterday in bed with a headache not merely because of my bad attitudes, unpleasant tempers and wrongthink, but because both my grandmothers had migraine, my father has migraine and my mother has migraine.

   • 2020 June 11, David Bernstein, “The Revolution is Eating its Own”, in The Volokh Conspiracy‎^[1]:

     Fang, fearing for his job, had to issue a Maoist-style apology for reporting wrongthink.

Usage notes

• With its Orwellian roots, use of the word implies that freedom of opinion is being suppressed.