Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun Any of a group of British workers who between 1811 and 1816 rioted and destroyed laborsaving textile machinery in the belief that such machinery would diminish employment.
- noun One who opposes technical or technological change.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A member of a conspiracy of workmen in England (1811–1816) banded together for the destruction of improved machines, under the delusion that these diminished employment: said to have called themselves Luddites from an imbecile named Ned Lud, who broke two stocking-frames from anger. The disturbances created by them were called Luddite riots, and required stern measures for their repression.
- Of or pertaining to the Luddites: as, Luddite riots.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun One of a number of riotous persons in England, who for six years (1811-17) tried to prevent the use of labor-saving machinery by breaking it, burning factories, etc.; -- so called from Ned Lud, a half-witted man who some years previously had broken stocking frames.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun Any of a group of early 19th century
English textile workers whodestroyed machinery because it would harm theirlivelihood . - noun by extension, pejorative Someone who
opposes technological change .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun one of the 19th century English workmen who destroyed laborsaving machinery that they thought would cause unemployment
- noun any opponent of technological progress
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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That living-condition claim was swept aside by commercial interests and officialdom, which hung the label Luddite on protesters not for demanding a living wage but for obstructing the march of technological progress.
No Uncertain Terms William Safire 2003
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That living-condition claim was swept aside by commercial interests and officialdom, which hung the label Luddite on protesters not for demanding a living wage but for obstructing the march of technological progress.
No Uncertain Terms William Safire 2003
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That living-condition claim was swept aside by commercial interests and officialdom, which hung the label Luddite on protesters not for demanding a living wage but for obstructing the march of technological progress.
No Uncertain Terms William Safire 2003
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That living-condition claim was swept aside by commercial interests and officialdom, which hung the label Luddite on protesters not for demanding a living wage but for obstructing the march of technological progress.
No Uncertain Terms William Safire 2003
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The novelist Thomas Pynchon wrote in The New York Times in 1984, “The word Luddite continues to be applied with contempt to anyone with doubts about technology, especially the nuclear kind.”
No Uncertain Terms William Safire 2003
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The novelist Thomas Pynchon wrote in The New York Times in 1984, “The word Luddite continues to be applied with contempt to anyone with doubts about technology, especially the nuclear kind.”
No Uncertain Terms William Safire 2003
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The novelist Thomas Pynchon wrote in The New York Times in 1984, “The word Luddite continues to be applied with contempt to anyone with doubts about technology, especially the nuclear kind.”
No Uncertain Terms William Safire 2003
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The novelist Thomas Pynchon wrote in The New York Times in 1984, “The word Luddite continues to be applied with contempt to anyone with doubts about technology, especially the nuclear kind.”
No Uncertain Terms William Safire 2003
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The term Luddite usually carries connotations of destroying new technology.
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The term Luddite usually carries connotations of destroying new technology.
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