anthropodicy
/ˌænθɹoʊˈpɑdɪsi/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: 0.00 in modern English
23
Scrabble Score
12
Letters
5
Syllables
11
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
An attempt, or an argument attempting, to justify that human beings are fundamentally good despite the commission of evil acts by some people.
Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "[T]he next two [devices or arguments] urge that these distresses are the prices paid for certain compensating advantages to the animals, notably existence. I have some difficulty believing that they are seriously intended, for they would, without alteration, justify the vilest imaginable human slavery and oppression. Nor is it generally true nowadays—though once it was—that those who offer such anthropodicies are much impressed by them in their original form, as theodicy."
Etymology
Blend of anthropo- (prefix meaning ‘human beings, people’) + theodicy (“justification of a deity or of particular attributes of a deity; specifically, a justification of the existence of evil and suffering in the world”). Anthropo- is derived from Ancient Greek ἄνθρωπος (ánthrōpos, “human being, person; all human beings, mankind”), ultimately possibly Pre-Greek; while the -dicy element of theodicy is from Ancient Greek δῐ́κη (dĭ́kē, “justice; judgment, order; law; right”), and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *deyḱ- (“to point out”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: *deyḱ-, ἄνθρωπος, δῐ́κη
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˌænθɹoʊˈpɑdɪsi/
- British English: /ˌænθɹəʊˈpɒdɪsi/