【1988 Archives】

2025-06-27 09:23:13 584 views 387 comments

Listen up988 Archives sheeple — "sheeple" is now officially a word, so sayeth the shade-throwing master Merriam-Webster.

If you've spent any time online, you know that "sheeple" is the word you use when you want to yell at an otherwise undefined group of people. It is the insult the blogging masses use to call someone a "dummy following a person or ideology without knowing why they're following said person or ideology."

SEE ALSO: Merriam-Webster trolls United with the definition of 'volunteer'

But according to Merriam-Webster, here's the actual definition:

people who are docile, compliant, or easily influenced :  people likened to sheep.

On the one hand, what are you doing Merriam-Webster? This is a ridiculous word!

Mashable Light Speed Want more out-of-this world tech, space and science stories? Sign up for Mashable's weekly Light Speed newsletter. By clicking Sign Me Up, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Thanks for signing up!

On the other, it's a perfect word for 2017, a year where everyone from all sides of the political spectrum are shouting at each other.

But whether you like the word or not, you can now shout it with authority because the insult is now official. Add it to the books, sheeple!

And it turns out the word is not new. Like other sheeple, including myself, you may have assumed that this word originated when someone on the interwebs mashed "sheep" and "people" together and said, "Aha, I am a word inventor."

But nope. The first known use of "sheeple" came in 1945, when a columnist used it to describe people mindlessly obeying their government.

Turns out sheeple have been around for a lot longer than you think.


Featured Video For You
Merriam-Webster throws shade at Ivanka Trump after she can't define the word 'complicit'

Topics Social Media

Comments (725)
Co-creation Information Network

AC Milan vs. Feyenoord 2025 livestream: Watch Champions League for free

2025-06-27 09:19
Exploration Information Network

TikTok is making 'Euphoria' fanfiction now

2025-06-27 09:08
Style Information Network

How Psychoanalysis Helped John Berryman’s Poetry

2025-06-27 08:18
Habit Information Network

The Provocative, Misleading Paperbacks of the 1930s

2025-06-27 08:03
Happiness Information Network

Here's how I feel about all this Stephen Hawking 'news' going around

2025-06-27 06:59
Search
Newsletter

Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates.

Follow Us