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.

Mencken recalled it as a favorite of Sunday school kids in his boyhood.

From The Wall Street Journal

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

From The Wall Street Journal

Mencken, as the first president to install a bathtub in the White House.

From Salon

In 1956, shortly before his death, Mencken went even further; “American journalism is predominantly paltry and worthless. Its pretensions are enormous, but its achievements are insignificant.”

From Salon

Mencken, slipped supinely into the estate and dignity of a golf player.

From Salon

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