Tylerism
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 The policies of U.S. president John Tyler. uncountable
"The Herald of Saturday last, contained the first notice of a sale Public Lands ever advertised in [Illinois]! The last resort of Tylerism is not only destined to be a signal failure, but those who pretend to be Mr. Tyler's friends, and have some little knowledge of the people, will tell him that it was conceived in folly and madness; and that it will not secure him an additional supporter among the people."
- 2 The practice of abandoning the political party to which political office is owed, defecting while in office, committing political apostasy. countable, uncountable
"Of his ragged army, the impedimenta, the vile baggage, fell to our share — the armory and military chest were betrayed to our enemies. This position of things was entirely unparalleled in the course of political contests in our country: we fervently pray that it may never occur again. The defunct carcass of Tylerism bred a political pestilence, congenial to the vitality of Locofocoism, and it throve upon it—fatal to healthier organs, and we were enfeebled by the malaria."
- 3 The Reformed theology of Bennet Tyler. countable, uncountable
Example
More examples"The Herald of Saturday last, contained the first notice of a sale Public Lands ever advertised in [Illinois]! The last resort of Tylerism is not only destined to be a signal failure, but those who pretend to be Mr. Tyler's friends, and have some little knowledge of the people, will tell him that it was conceived in folly and madness; and that it will not secure him an additional supporter among the people."
Etymology
From Tyler + -ism. The abandoning-political-party sense came from John Tyler who is said to have done this after William Henry Harrison died in office.
Related phrases
More for "tylerism"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.