Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A naive idealist who supports philanthropic or humanitarian causes or reforms.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun derogatory One who
advocates or performs what they believe to be themorally superior course of action, even in the face of overwhelming experience or factual evidence that its effect is only irrelevant or harmful.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun someone devoted to the promotion of human welfare and to social reforms
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Support
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Examples
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There's no beating "The Interrupters" as a prime example of the so-called "do-gooder" documentary, except that it's actually good.
Singing and Dancing on Celluloid Steve Dollar 2011
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She had put up with being called a do-gooder, a chump.
Remember Me, Irene Jan Burke 1996
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To follow Sally Ranney's career over the past 40 years is to see what a "do-gooder" does in real life.
Alexia Parks: Ted Turner's Environmental Muse Alexia Parks 2010
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Then there is this one from Stephen Budiansky in the New York Times, attacking the local foods movement as threatening to "devolve into another one of those self-indulgent -- and self-defeating -- do-gooder dogmas."
Carla Wise: The Latest Threat to Industrial Agriculture: The Local Foods Movement? Carla Wise 2010
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Resist the temptation to waltz off with do-gooder resolve and start writing checks.
Rev. Chuck Freeman: Help Build a Mosque Rev. Chuck Freeman 2010
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To follow Sally Ranney's career over the past 40 years is to see what a "do-gooder" does in real life.
Alexia Parks: Ted Turner's Environmental Muse Alexia Parks 2010
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Then there is this one from Stephen Budiansky in the New York Times, attacking the local foods movement as threatening to "devolve into another one of those self-indulgent -- and self-defeating -- do-gooder dogmas."
Carla Wise: The Latest Threat to Industrial Agriculture: The Local Foods Movement? Carla Wise 2010
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Has the environmental movement's rhetoric become clichéd, too do-gooder, and too easily ignored?
David de Rothschild: Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Presentation? David de Rothschild 2011
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Then there is this one from Stephen Budiansky in the New York Times, attacking the local foods movement as threatening to "devolve into another one of those self-indulgent -- and self-defeating -- do-gooder dogmas."
Carla Wise: The Latest Threat to Industrial Agriculture: The Local Foods Movement? Carla Wise 2010
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Has the environmental movement's rhetoric become clichéd, too do-gooder, and too easily ignored?
David de Rothschild: Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Presentation? David de Rothschild 2011
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