Meaning of whiggish | Babel Free

Definitions

1. Characteristic of a Whig; liberal.
   historical
2. Alternative letter-case form of whiggish.
   alt-of
3. Characterized by a belief in inevitable progress, and tending to evaluate the past by the standards of the present; see Whig history.
   capitalized, often

Examples

“Near-synonym: presentist”

“Finally, whiggish narratives, strewn with heroes, only hinder understanding of how the world works.”

“Abilafia’s article is a classic example of an old-fashioned “Whiggish” narrative. It claims a uniquely moderate and progressive advance toward the development of British institutions, traced continuously from Magna Carta and isolated from the rages and radicalism of the Continent.”

“Because this whiggish view⟳ depends on the expectation of progress⟳, liberal politicians are more suspectible to it than their conservative brethren.”

“Of course, the reason⟳ we know⟳ all this—the reason⟳ the episode keeps turning up in Whiggish histories of technology—is that Plato wrote it down.”

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