Brentism

B3R1E1N1T1I1S1M3

noun

A self-satisfied, hypocritical, or embarrassingly inappropriate remark.

Scrabble 12

Meanings

nounBrentism (plural Brentisms)

plural Brentisms

  1. A self-satisfied, hypocritical, or embarrassingly inappropriate remark.

    The genius of Gervais is to let Brent get too close to reality in his portrayal of management technique. We all witness Brentisms every day.

    2011, J. Jeremy Wisnewski, The Office and Philosophy: Scenes from the Unexamined Life
    2 more examples

    This account challenges its followers to secure a date on Tinder using classic, squirm-inducing Brentisms, and later share the conversations on Twitter. As you might imagine, the results aren't always successful, but they're always funny.

    2014, Sedge Beswick, 140 Ultimate Twitter LOLs, page 72

    The iconic character from The Office has always been designed to be laughed at, not with. […] The first third of the film is laugh after laugh; Brentism after Brentism. But half an hour in and this movie gets unnervingly dark and is an uncomfortable watch at times.

    2016 August 11, Andrew Bullock, “David Brent REVIEW: Life on the Road goes from painfully funny to just plain painful. Ouch”, in Sunday Express

Origin

From Brent + -ism, after the character David Brent in the TV mockumentary The Office.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

Brentism. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Brentism

MLA

“Brentism.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Brentism. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Brentism,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Brentism.

Source: Brentism on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.