German

Noun

Gutmensch m ‎(genitive Gutmenschen, plural Gutmenschen)

1. (derogatory) do-gooder; person who has a naïve and unreflected conviction of their own moral superiority
2. (derogatory, in particular) someone overly concerned with political correctness

Usage notes

• In contrast to the compound Gutmensch, the noun phrase (ein) guter Mensch means “a good person, someone of moral integrity” in the literal, positive sense.
• In contemporary German discourse, the word Gutmensch is most often associated with adherents of the postmaterialist middle-class left, though this is not a property of the word as such.

Declension

Descendants

• Dutch: gutmensch, goedmens

Dutch

Noun

gutmensch m ‎(plural gutmenschen, diminutive gutmenschje n)

1. (derogatory) do-gooder; person who has a naïve and unreflected conviction of their own moral superiority
2. (derogatory, in particular) someone overly concerned with political correctness

Usage notes

• Sometimes spelt Gutmensch, preserving the German capitalization.
• Reinterpreted as a masculine word, mirroring the Dutch word mens which normally takes the masculine gender (though can also take with, a change in meaning, the neuter gender).

Synonyms

• goedmens

Related terms

• policor
• salonsocialist
• kaviaarsocialist