Veblen

American  

[veb-luhn] / ˈvɛb lən /

noun

1. Oswald, 1880–1960, U.S. mathematician.

2. Thorstein 1857–1929, U.S. economist and sociologist.

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Veblen British  

/ ˈvɛblən /

noun

1. Thorstein (ˈθɔːstɪn). 1857–1929, US economist and social scientist, noted for his analysis of social and economic institutions. His works include The Theory of the Leisure Class (1899) and The Theory of Business Enterprise (1904)

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Example Sentences

In 1976, Simons received the American Mathematical Society’s Oswald Veblen Prize in Geometry for research that would prove to be influential to string theory and other areas of physics.

From Seattle Times • May 10, 2024

In economics, Veblen goods are things you buy not for their intrinsic worth but to display how much disposable income you have.

From Los Angeles Times • May 30, 2023

"In a way you would say, 'Duh, what did you expect? Under warmer drier conditions you are going to get fewer forests," Veblen said.

From Salon • Dec. 1, 2021

Readers of Thorstein Veblen, William Appleman Williams or Christopher Lasch, of which Bacevich is one, would hardly be surprised by the choices America’s elites made after the Soviet Union collapsed.

From New York Times • Jan. 7, 2020

“The observance of these standards,” Veblen wrote, “in some degree of approximation, becomes incumbent upon all classes lower in the scale.”

From "Class Matters" by The New York Times