Trend Watch

Esoteric

After Chris Christie called criticisms of surveillance ...

When:

Lookups spiked on July 26, 2013.

Why:

New Jersey governor Chris Christie called libertarian criticisms of government surveillance "esoteric, intellectual debates" that could be dangerous to national security. His words were taken to be an attack on the positions of a potential rival in the next Republican presidential primaries, Sen. Rand Paul.

Esoteric means "requiring or exhibiting knowledge that is restricted to a small group" or "difficult to understand." It comes from the Greek word meaning "within" (referring to things known only within a small group).


Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!