Wilkinsonian
adj, noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A follower of the Quaker preacher Jemima Wilkinson, known as the Public Universal Friend; a member of the Universal Friends.
"The Wilkinsonians are equally to the present point. They lived, for the most part, not more than twenty- five miles from Manchester, New York, the town in which Mormonism was first preached; […]"
- 2 A supporter of any of a number of other people named Wilkinson.
"If Mr. Doulton does not know what consistency is, teach him, and place Mr. Wilkinson at the head of the poll. That was regarded as "vituperation," and the St. Giles's poet was called into play. This was the shot he fired at the Wilkinsonians […]"
- 1 Pertaining to the Quaker preacher Jemima Wilkinson, known as the Public Universal Friend, or to the Society of Universal Friends.
"She began to preach, announcing herself as "the Publick Universal Friend," and soon [...succeeded] in organizing groups of Wilkinsonian celibates at New Milford, Conn., and at East Greenwich and South Kingston, R.I."
- 2 Pertaining to any of a large number of other people with the surname Wilkinson,
"A retreat was not to be thought of, and in case any craven spirit should exist amongst the four thousand, (save one,) breasts animated with Wilkinsonian ardour, (perhaps as James has it "as an additional stimulus to glory") a picked man was […]"
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
More examples"She began to preach, announcing herself as "the Publick Universal Friend," and soon [...succeeded] in organizing groups of Wilkinsonian celibates at New Milford, Conn., and at East Greenwich and South Kingston, R.I."
Etymology
From Wilkinson + -ian.
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.