Meaning & use
thoughtcrime
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Meanings
nouncountable or uncountable
The act of holding an illegal or forbidden belief or opinion, even if you never act on it.
Grammar: Countable when you mean one specific forbidden idea (a thoughtcrime); uncountable when you mean the general idea, and it is mainly used in discussions of politics and fiction.
Patterns
- commit a thoughtcrime
- be guilty of thoughtcrime
In the novel, the state punishes people for thoughtcrime rather than for anything they actually do.
Critics said the new rules came close to criminalizing thoughtcrime.
He was accused of thoughtcrime simply for criticizing the leadership.
nouncountablefigurativehumorous
An idea or opinion that a group treats as unacceptable to even think or express.
Grammar: Often used slightly humorously for strong social disapproval, not for real laws: calling something a thoughtcrime suggests the reaction is too extreme.
Patterns
- be treated as a thoughtcrime
- call something a thoughtcrime
In some circles, questioning that theory is treated as a thoughtcrime.
She joked that disliking the film was a thoughtcrime among her friends.
Word forms
| plural | thoughtcrimes |
|---|
Common combinations
- commit thoughtcrime
- The regime claimed citizens could commit thoughtcrime inside their own heads.
- be guilty of thoughtcrime
- No one should be found guilty of thoughtcrime in a free society.
- a thoughtcrime against the state
- The book describes a thoughtcrime against the state as the worst offense possible.
- punish thoughtcrime
- The authorities tried to punish thoughtcrime with surveillance and re-education.
Synonyms and how they differ
- heresy
- Heresy means an opinion that goes against an established religion or accepted belief, and it is about openly holding the belief rather than merely thinking it.
- dissidence
- Dissidence is open disagreement with an authority; thoughtcrime is about the private thought itself, so dissidence is more public.
Opposites
Word family
- thought police noun
- An imaginary or real force that monitors and punishes people's opinions.
Commonly confused: thoughtcrime or hate crime? thoughtcrime or mindset?
thoughtcrime vs hate crime
A hate crime is a real, punishable act motivated by prejudice; a thoughtcrime is only the forbidden idea, with no action required.
thoughtcrime vs mindset
Mindset is a person's usual way of thinking and is neutral; thoughtcrime is always a disapproving or fictional term for a forbidden belief.
Practice
In the novel, citizens are arrested for ______ because merely disagreeing with the state is illegal.
Choose one answer.
'Thoughtcrime' fits because the crime is the forbidden belief itself, not an action. 'A hate crime' is a real offense involving a harmful act, 'free thought' is the opposite idea, and 'mindset' is a neutral word for a way of thinking.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “thoughtcrime”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.