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Whorf

American  
[hwawrf, wawrf] / ʰwɔrf, wɔrf /

noun

  1. Benjamin Lee, 1897–1941, U.S. linguist.


Whorf British  
/ wɔːf /

noun

  1. Benjamin Lee. 1897–1943, US linguist, who argued that human language determines perception See also Sapir-Whorf hypothesis

"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

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.

Whorf argued that this meant Hopi speakers had no concept of time and experienced what an English speaker might call “the passage of time” in a completely different way.

From Scientific American • Oct. 18, 2023

In the 20th century, the American linguists Edward Sapir and Benjamin Lee Whorf elaborated this idea into a broader vision of how language structures thought.

From The Guardian • Jul. 27, 2018

If it made them more logical then Whorf would be proven right!

From Slate • Dec. 10, 2013

Erickson sat on a stool and from the waist down, Whorf placed on her a white Christmas tree blanket.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 16, 2012

But 70 years on, it is surely time to put the trauma of Whorf behind us.

From New York Times • Aug. 28, 2010

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