Gladstonesque
adj ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 Characteristic or reminiscent of William Ewart Gladstone, especially as supportive of laissez-faire policies.
"To assume that the "theory" of the results of confiding in professional law-breakers (whether Irishmen or London roughs) is for a moment worthy of being considered from the same standpoint as the belief that wìthout the restraints of the law the same gentry will commit excesses, is indeed to beg the whole question, and is thoroughly Gladstonesque."
Example
More examples"To assume that the "theory" of the results of confiding in professional law-breakers (whether Irishmen or London roughs) is for a moment worthy of being considered from the same standpoint as the belief that wìthout the restraints of the law the same gentry will commit excesses, is indeed to beg the whole question, and is thoroughly Gladstonesque."
Etymology
From Gladstone + -esque.
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.