jaundiced

adjective

jaun·​diced ˈjȯn-dəst How to pronounce jaundiced (audio)
ˈjän-
1
: affected with or as if with jaundice
2
: exhibiting or influenced by envy, distaste, or hostility
a jaundiced eye

Did you know?

Cast not a jaundiced eye on the word jaundiced—and by that we mean this: don’t dislike or distrust jaundiced because of past experiences with the word or with others like it. Jaundiced is handy for describing the grumps among us who tend toward envy, aversion, or hostility, and who doesn’t know a few of those? This useful 17th century adjective comes from an also-useful 14th century noun jaundice that still refers to a medical condition in which excess bile pigments in the bloodstream and body tissues cause a person’s skin to turn yellow. The connection between the physical condition and the bad attitude lies in the physiological theory of the bodily humors, which holds that a hostile, irritable temperament is caused by excess yellow bile in one’s body.

Examples of jaundiced in a Sentence

She has a very jaundiced view of politics and politicians. took a jaundiced view of his opponent's triumphs on the tennis court
Recent Examples on the Web Republicans, however, have gone from euphoria about the economy under Trump to a very jaundiced view under President Joe Biden. Paul Krugman, The Mercury News, 22 Feb. 2024 None of this invalidates casting a jaundiced eye toward the absurd aspects of award shows, or the idea of trying to get music, pop or TV stars to laugh at themselves. Brian Lowry, CNN, 5 Feb. 2024 Jefferson approaches all of his characters with an expansive, if occasionally jaundiced, sense of cockeyed compassion. Ann Hornaday, Washington Post, 20 Dec. 2023 Your kid/the book’s protagonist has a more jaundiced view. Shannon Reed, The New Yorker, 30 Jan. 2024 In fascinating detail, Clover tracks the way the jaundiced and largely bogus thinking of these three paladins has filtered into various Russian nationalist groups, Russian institutions (particularly the military), and even Putin’s own thinking. Charles Clover, Foreign Affairs, 9 Dec. 2016 The sick arrived at Gorrie’s door jaundiced and dehydrated and shivering with fever. Amy Brady, Discover Magazine, 2 Dec. 2023 In this project, a jaundiced divorce attorney with anger issues gets a job at Divorce Hotel, touting 48-hour, stress-free annulments, and offering a little encouragement when needed for couples to cut the knot. John Hopewell, Variety, 28 Nov. 2023 With Harry as a civilian, with Maddie as a rookie just learning how the LAPD functions, and with a defense attorney as one of the three leads, Legacy is able to take a more jaundiced view of policework than Classic Bosch tended to. Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 20 Oct. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'jaundiced.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1640, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of jaundiced was in 1640

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Dictionary Entries Near jaundiced

Cite this Entry

“Jaundiced.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/jaundiced. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

jaundiced

adjective
jaun·​diced ˈjȯn-dəst How to pronounce jaundiced (audio)
1
: affected with or as if with jaundice
2
: showing or influenced by envy, dislike, or hostility
a jaundiced eye

Medical Definition

jaundiced

adjective
jaun·​diced -dəst How to pronounce jaundiced (audio)
: affected with jaundice
a deeply jaundiced patient
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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