definitioneering

definitioneering noun: the act of creating, usually by making up, definitions.

Noun

definitioneering (uncountable)

(humorous, rare) The act of creating, usually by making up, definitions.
- Are we entitled to so define, or is Hook bogged down in a form of "persuasive definitioneering"?1968 (1972?), "Definitioneering: An Article-review of Sidney Hook's Academic Freedom," The Philosophy Forum, supplement 11, nos. 1-2 (Summer 1972): S77-S95
- ...danger is that we may become bogged down in 'definitioneering'; that is, we may become advocates of special definitions that are arbitrarily stipulated.1973, Paul Kurtz, The Humanist Alternative: Some Definitions of Humanism, Prometheus Books, page 177

Makkonen argues that the rationale of the rights concerned should always be taken as a point of departure, rather than an attempt at a priori 'definitioneering'.2001, Catherine Brölmann, "T. Makkonen, Identity, Difference and Otherness. The Concepts of People, Indigenous People and Minority in...
"...when you try to define it it becomes a surreal puddle of definitioneering," said drummer Brandon Weaver.2006 December 29, John Wenzel, “We make the music we want to make”, in Denver Post:

Blend of definition + engineering or from definition + -eer + -ing

What does definitioneering mean?: Definitioneering means the act of creating, usually by making up, definitions.
How do you use definitioneering in a sentence?: Makkonen argues that the rationale of the rights concerned should always be taken as a point of departure, rather than an attempt at a priori 'definitioneering'.
What part of speech is definitioneering?: Definitioneering is a noun.

Adapted from Wiktionary: definitioneering (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

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