A.Word.A.Day --manichean

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Manichean or Manichaean

PRONUNCIATION:

(man-i-KEE-uhn)

MEANING:

adjective: Of or relating to a dualistic view of the world, dividing things into either good or evil, light or dark, black or white, involving no shades of gray.

ETYMOLOGY:

After Manes/Mani (216-276 CE), Persian founder of Manichaeism, an ancient religion espousing a doctrine of a struggle between good and evil.

USAGE:

"The most crucial feature of neoconservatism is its Manichean worldview, wherein the Earth is pitted in an urgent struggle between purely good and purely evil nations. As George W. Bush famously told then Sen. Joe Biden: 'I don't do nuance.'"
Jacob Bronsther; What Do Neocons Have to Do With Obama?; The Christian Science Monitor (Boston, Massachusetts); Sep 29, 2009.

"Here the schema is too obvious, and its Manichaean contrasts of dark/light, good/evil don't resonate beyond the special effects that deliver them."
Judith Mackrell; Wind Shadow; The Guardian (London, UK); Oct 7, 2009.

See more usage examples of manichean in Vocabulary.com's dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

If I could be sure of doing with my books as much as my [doctor] father did for the sick! -Marcel Proust, novelist (1871-1922)

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