punditocracy

noun

pun·​dit·​oc·​ra·​cy ˌpən-dət-ˈä-krə-sē How to pronounce punditocracy (audio)
plural punditocracies
: a group of powerful and influential political commentators

Examples of punditocracy in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The notion that Trump will run away with the 2024 nomination should be treated with the same skepticism that should have greeted the punditocracy’s glib dismissal of his candidacy back in the summer of 2015. Walter Shapiro, The New Republic, 6 June 2023 Still, Beck has never regained his place near the top of the conservative punditocracy. James Rainey, Los Angeles Times, 26 Apr. 2023 Naturally, the reaction in some far-flung corners of the punditocracy was to make the blanket assumption that Graham was doing shrewd politics. Alex Shephard, The New Republic, 15 Sep. 2022 Over the weekend, this nonsensical characterization of the widest-ranging and most expensive spending bill in American history metastasized among the liberal punditocracy. Andrew Stuttaford, National Review, 3 Oct. 2021 Both presidents tapped into a populistic impulse among voters and their interpreters in the punditocracy who want nothing more than for the United States to declare the nation’s overseas commitments won and done. Noah Rothman, National Review, 26 Aug. 2021 Or consider the political punditocracy that assumed Donald Trump couldn’t possibly be a serious threat to Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election, and never revised those assumptions. Arthur C. Brooks, The Atlantic, 11 Mar. 2021 If Tanden’s critics have a beef about her administrative skills or qualifications to head the OMB, that’s been barely visible during her confirmation hearings or within the Washington punditocracy. Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 24 Feb. 2021 And second place is meaningful by the unwritten measuring sticks that the punditocracy creates. New York Times, 11 Mar. 2020

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'punditocracy.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

pundit + -cracy

First Known Use

1987, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of punditocracy was in 1987

Dictionary Entries Near punditocracy

Cite this Entry

“Punditocracy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/punditocracy. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

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