bien pensant

American  

[byen pen-sahnt, byan pahn-sahn] / ˌbyɛn pɛnˈsɑnt, byɛ̃ pɑ̃ˈsɑ̃ /

Or bien-pensant

adjective

1. blindly conventional or orthodox; having or based on beliefs that are acceptably proper or correct.

   In bien pensant circles, it has become fashionable to speak of India and China in the same breath, though these countries have little in common.

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noun

1. a person who adopts conventional or orthodox beliefs without critical judgment.

   I've been called an opinionated bien pensant.

bien-pensant British  

/ bjɛ̃pɑ̃sɑ̃ /

adjective

1. right-thinking; orthodox

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noun

1. a right-thinking person

Etymology

Origin of bien pensant

First recorded in 1840–45; from French: literally, “well thinking,” equivalent to bien, from Latin bene “well” + pensant, present participle of penser “to think”; pensive ( def. )

Example Sentences

When Trump did run in 2015, most of the bien pensant refused to take him seriously.

From Washington Post

That he will get away with this, despite all the bien pensant wails and warnings, just as he got away with the Jerusalem embassy move.

From The Guardian

Trump’s most recent outrage has left what William Finnegan referred to recently as the “bien pensant” once again searching for the most effective methods of disarming his still surging campaign.

From The New Yorker

He was sometimes called the French Orwell, and he was, indeed, similarly fearless in his engagements, taking sides left and right without the least worry abut how it would strike anyone else at all—who it might alienate, or what bien pensant group might disapprove.

From The New Yorker

So here at last we will have the bipartisan moment so many of our bien pensant thinkers and officials have longed for.

From Salon