Meaning of Gumption | Babel Free

Definitions

1. Common sense, initiative, resourcefulness.
   Ireland, UK, uncountable, usually
2. Boldness of enterprise; aggressiveness or initiative.
   US, uncountable, usually
3. Energy of body and mind, enthusiasm.
   US, uncountable, usually

Equivalents

Examples

“Gumption, or rum gumption, docility, comprehenſion, capacity.”

“When I see⟳ a man who has a good business, sufficient to support⟳ his family respectably, neglecting his affairs, and running into debt, in order⟳ to obtain⟳ a political office, I fancy that, whatever may be his talents, he is not burdened with gumption. […] When I see⟳ a man attending diligently to his own⟳ concerns, sending his children to school, paying his debts, and keeping clear of law suits, quarrels, and politics, I set⟳ him down as a man possessing a reasonable share⟳ of gumption.”

“As a balance to genius, which is ideally creative, gumption is required to control⟳, to direct⟳. […] Gumption is the power to realize⟳ the poetical worth of common sense⟳. Without that power no man was ever truly great.”

“Whatever the job turned out to be, if it went against her gumptions, she would make⟳ sure Gregory would have⟳ hell on his hands and make⟳ him eager to release⟳ her from the deal⟳.”

“"You've got a hard way of looking at things, Scarlett," he said. "But you think⟳ Hugh over. You could go far and do worse. I think⟳ his honesty and his willingness will outweigh his lack of gumption. Scarlett did not answer⟳, for she did not want⟳ to be too rude. But to her mind⟳ there were few, if any, qualities that outweighed gumption.”

“A person filled with gumption doesn't sit⟳ around dissipating and stewing about things. He's at the front of the train⟳ of his own⟳ awareness, watching to see⟳ what's up the track and meeting it when it comes. That's gumption.”

CEFR level