unperson
Americannoun
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a public figure, especially in a totalitarian country, who, for political or ideological reasons, is not recognized or mentioned in government publications or records or in the news media.
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a person accorded no recognition or consideration by another or by a specific group.
noun
Etymology
Origin of unperson
un- 1 + person; introduced in George Orwell's novel 1984 (1949)
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.
In an especially disgraceful article, Anthony Tomassini, then the classical music critic for the New York Times, took the money quotes completely out of context and effectively declared Stockhausen an unperson.
From Salon ● Sep. 11, 2021
As an artistic unperson he is banned even from buying paints.
From Economist ● Sep. 15, 2016
It not only seeks to censor uncongenial speech but wishes to declare an uncongenial individual ineffable—in effect, to render him an unperson.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 4, 2016
It was as if Bob Packwood had suddenly become an unperson -- the Senator from Not.
From Time Magazine Archive
But Syme was not only dead, he was abolished, an unperson.
From "1984" by George Orwell
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
