more equal

English

Etymology

Coined by George Orwell in 1945; see Animal Farm quotation below.

Pronunciation

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Adjective

more equal (comparative form only)

1. (idiomatic, ironic) Ostensibly equal, but more privileged in reality.
   • 1943 November – 1944 February (date written; published 1945 August 17), George Orwell [pseudonym; Eric Arthur Blair], Animal Farm […], London: Secker & Warburg, published May 1962, →OCLC:

     All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.

   • 2006, Marie-Bénédicte Dembour, Who Believes in Human Rights?, p. 122

     ... men who supposedly enjoyed equality and freedom, but in fact did not. The rich more equal than the poor at Strasbourg? ... is there a gap between what human rights say they do and what they actually do?

   • 2007, Mark Knoller, President Bush Rides In Style, CBS News

     All the world leaders at the G-8 Summit are supposed to be equal in stature. But in some ways, President George W. Bush is more equal than others.

   • 2007, Neil Clark, Monday May 21, 2007, The Guardian, If the world is his oyster (discussing Bernard Kouchner)

     He clearly believes some states are more equal than others.