Jeffersonian

[ jef-er-soh-nee-uhn ]

adjective

1. pertaining to or advocating the political principles and doctrines of Thomas Thomas Jefferson, especially those stressing minimum control by the central government, the inalienable rights of the individual, and the superiority of an agrarian economy and rural society.

noun

1. a supporter of Thomas Jefferson or Jeffersonianism.

Other Words From

• an·ti-Jef·fer·so·ni·an adjective noun
• Jef·fer·so·ni·an·ism noun
• pro-Jef·fer·so·ni·an adjective noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of Jeffersonian¹

An Americanism dating back to 1790–1800; Jefferson + -ian

Example Sentences

Many features — from the six Jeffersonian domes that top the building to the yellow steel beams scattered throughout — mimic those in other parts of the airport.

From Washington Post

Healey describes his politics as "libertarian in some aspects, Jacksonian, Jeffersonian, socially liberal, fiscally conservative."

From The Daily Beast

It was an accomplishment of historic proportions, notes historian Abrahamson, of “a transformed Jeffersonian vision.”

From The Daily Beast

Many factors ultimately undermined the first old agrarian Jeffersonian dream.

From The Daily Beast

And that his feelings for Hamilton led to a government and a country that became Hamiltonian rather than Jeffersonian.

From The Daily Beast

Have they not been, ever since that inauguration day, the cardinal principles of Jeffersonian democracy?

From Project Gutenberg

I am now, as I have ever been, true and faithful to the principles of Jeffersonian Democracy.

From Project Gutenberg

It starts with the idea of reproducing the Jeffersonian Ordinance.

From Project Gutenberg

There had been a long inclination on Jackson's part to the Jeffersonian policy.

From Project Gutenberg

Jeffersonian democracy, therefore, seems now to be nothing more than a meaningless form of expression.

From Project Gutenberg