Mencken

American

[meng-kuhn] / ˈmɛŋ kən /

noun

H(enry) L(ouis), 1880–1956, U.S. writer, editor, and critic.

Mencken British

/ ˈmɛŋkən /

noun

H ( enry ) L ( ouis ). 1880–1956, US journalist and literary critic, noted for The American Language (1919): editor of the Smart Set and the American Mercury, which he founded (1924)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Menckenian

adjective

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The problem, as Mencken implied, is that voters don’t really want their wishes fulfilled “good and hard.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 16, 2025

Mencken famously said, “is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 16, 2025

Mencken, who was a dab hand at writing with great verve about how much he hated just about everything.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 22, 2024

Mencken once wrote, victims of their own mysticism.

From Salon • Jul. 18, 2024

Perhaps I had made a mistake about Mencken?

From "Black Boy" by Richard Wright

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023