Wilkinsonian

UK/ˌwɪl.kɪnˈsəʊ.ni.ən/US/ˌwɪl.kɪnˈsoʊ.ni.ən/

Wilkinsonian adjective: pertaining to the Quaker preacher Jemima Wilkinson, known as the Public Universal Friend, or to the Society of Universal Friends.

Adjective

Wilkinsonian

Pertaining to the Quaker preacher Jemima Wilkinson, known as the Public Universal Friend, or to the Society of Universal Friends.
- She began to preach, announcing herself as "the Publick Universal Friend," and soon [...succeeded] in organizing groups of Wilkinsonian celibates at New Milford, Conn., and at East Greenwich and South Kingston, R.I.1939, Henry Louis Mencken, [New] American Mercury, page 293
- J. Hagadorn Wells, who was born in Kingston (Little Rest) in 1817, recalled in his reminiscences, recorded in 1897: "[…] more than once I joined a raiding party of young fellows, to ransack the empty apartments, scare up the ghosts of generations of rural gentry and Wilkinsonian saints, dead; but...2009, Herbert A. Wisbey, Jr., Pioneer Prophetess: Jemima Wilkinson, the Publick Universal Friend, Cornell University Press, →ISBN, page 208
Pertaining to any of a large number of other people with the surname Wilkinson,
- A retreat was not to be thought of, and in case any craven spirit should exist amongst the four thousand, (save one,) breasts animated with Wilkinsonian ardour, (perhaps as James has it "as an additional stimulus to glory") a picked man was […]1855, Gilbert Auchinleck, A History of the War Between Great Britain and the United States of America: During the Years 1812, 1813, and 1814, Maclear, page 281
- I have a Wilkinsonian admiration for T. F. Powys, ranking him in English literature with Bunyan, Swift and Blake.1962, Review of English Literature

Noun

Wilkinsonian (plural Wilkinsonians)

A follower of the Quaker preacher Jemima Wilkinson, known as the Public Universal Friend; a member of the Universal Friends.
- The Wilkinsonians are equally to the present point. They lived, for the most part, not more than twenty- five miles from Manchester, New York, the town in which Mormonism was first preached; […]1994, Ruth Kauffman, Reginald Wright Kauffman, The Latter Day Saints: A Study of the Mormons in the Light of Economic Conditions, University of Illinois Press, →ISBN, page 12
- Yet Wilkinsonians (or the Universal Friends, as they dubbed themselves), despite their obscurity, provide a crucial case study. The prophetic and supernatural claims of the Wilkinsonians preceded all their contemporaries, but […]2017, Adam Jortner, Blood from the Sky: Miracles and Politics in the Early American Republic, University of Virginia Press, →ISBN
A supporter of any of a number of other people named Wilkinson.
- If Mr. Doulton does not know what consistency is, teach him, and place Mr. Wilkinson at the head of the poll. That was regarded as "vituperation," and the St. Giles's poet was called into play. This was the shot he fired at the Wilkinsonians […]1879, George Hill, The electoral history of the borough of Lambeth since 1832, page 134, referring to supporters of William Arthur Wilkinson
- Pagitt proceeds to discriminate the varieties of the Separatists. In addition to Brownists, there are Barrowists, Wilkinsonians, Johnsonians, Ainsworthians, Robinsonians, and followers of John Smith and Thomas Lemar.1885, Book-lore: A Magazine Devoted to Old Time Literature, page 103

Examples of Wilkinsonian in a sentence

Historians have missed this Wilkinsonian renaissance, perhaps because they have been influenced by the repeated insistence of anti-Wilkinsonians that her influence was in decline […]2017, Adam Jortner, Blood from the Sky: Miracles and Politics in the Early American Republic, University of Virginia Press, →ISBN:
The Wilkinsonians, unaware that the Commander-in-Chief knew of their plots, continued their disloyal practices.1970, Harry Emerson Wildes, Anthony Wayne, Trouble Shooter of the American Revolution (Greenwood), referring to supporters of James...

Forms of Wilkinsonian

plural	Wilkinsonians

Origin of Wilkinsonian

From Wilkinson + -ian.

Words that rhyme with Wilkinsonian

48 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about Wilkinsonian

What does Wilkinsonian mean?: Wilkinsonian means pertaining to the Quaker preacher Jemima Wilkinson, known as the Public Universal Friend, or to the Society of Universal Friends.
How do you use Wilkinsonian in a sentence?: Historians have missed this Wilkinsonian renaissance, perhaps because they have been influenced by the repeated insistence of anti-Wilkinsonians that her influence was in decline […]
What part of speech is Wilkinsonian?: Wilkinsonian can be an adjective or a noun.
How do you pronounce Wilkinsonian?: Wilkinsonian is pronounced /ˌwɪl.kɪnˈsəʊ.ni.ən/ (UK).

Words near Wilkinsonian in the dictionary

Adapted from Wiktionary: Wilkinsonian (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

Cite this entry: “Wilkinsonian.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/wilkinsonian. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.