Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Showing results for doughface. Search instead for rough-face.

doughface

American  
[doh-feys] / ˈdoʊˌfeɪs /

noun

U.S. History.
  1. a Northerner who sympathized with the South during the controversies over new territories and slavery before the Civil War.

  2. a congressman from a northern state not opposed to slavery in the South.


Etymology

Origin of doughface

An Americanism dating back to 1785–95; dough + face

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.

See Examples For:

The choice went instead to James Buchanan, a colorless Pennsylvania doughface with a long record of party service dating back to Andrew Jackson’s day.

From Textbooks Jan. 18, 2018

At the same time, emphasizing Pierce’s status as a doughface threatened to push anti-slavery Democrats into the splinter Free Soil Party, fracturing the party in the North.

From Slate Sep. 14, 2012

In the morning Dave sought out Midshipman Farley to inquire to whom the doughface should be returned.

From Dave Darrin's Fourth Year at Annapolis by Hancock, H. Irving (Harrie Irving)

Not so many, probably, are familiar with the doughface, which, at the time this is written, was a new importation.

From Dave Darrin's Fourth Year at Annapolis by Hancock, H. Irving (Harrie Irving)

The country at large has had to pay dearly for that old doughface love for the South; it is paying every day in lives and money.

From The Continental Monthly, Vol. 2, No. 1, July, 1862 by Various

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Dictionary.com's Learning Companion

Go beyond just looking up words.
Remember them forever with VocabTrainer.

Start training