chatterati

English

Alternative forms

• chatteratis, as if the plural of a singular *chatterati

Etymology

Blend of chatter +‎ literati, attested since 1990.

Pronunciation

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Noun

chatterati pl (plural only)

1. People who chat, argue and debate.
   • 2002, Annabelle Sreberny, “Trauma talk,” in Journalism After September 11, Barbara Zelizer and Stuart Allan edd.

     The newspaper the Guardian, together with its Sunday sister the Observer, are the liberal papers of choice among the middle-class chatterati.

   • 2004, John Mole, It's All Greek to Me‎:

     Perhaps some Anatolian Leigh Fermor had a bestseller among the chatterati of Topkapi with his Travels in the Egripos.

   • 2004 January 20, Peter Simmons, “political incorrectness and the chatterati”, in One World Net‎, archived from the original on 28 July 2023:

     At last, after many years, the doctrine of multi-culturalism is being questioned. The chatterati have long held onto this as a core belief, a multi-cultural society where hundreds of different cultures exist side by side, and anyone criticising it has been labeled as a racist.

   • 2005 Christina Odone, in the Manchester Guardian, quoted in Credo by Ray Pritchard

     From when to die to when to give birth, from whom to have sex with, to how to spend their money, the chatteratis believe they should enjoy unlimited freedom.

Synonyms

• chattering classes

References

• “chatterati”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.