neo-luddite

neo·Lud·dite
/niːɒˈlʌdaɪt/

adjective

Opposed to technology, in the fashion of the Luddites.

Meanings

neo-luddite1

adjectiveneo-luddite (comparative more neo-luddite, superlative most neo-luddite)

comparative more neo-luddite · superlative most neo-luddite

  1. Alternative letter-case form of neo-Luddite.

    Nick Hilton, host of a neo-luddite podcast called The Ned Ludd Radio Hour, has invited me over for a cup of tea.

    2024 February 17, Tom Lamont, “‘Humanity’s remaining timeline? It looks more like five years than 50’: meet the neo-luddites warning of an AI apocalypse”, in The Guardian, →ISSN
nounneo-luddite (plural neo-luddites)

plural neo-luddites

  1. Alternative letter-case form of neo-Luddite.

    Wisecracking on the brink, the TrashFuture gang have no time for the brisk dismissal of groups like the neo-luddites, but neither are they all that keen to start an assault on the world’s computer farms, delivering the pre-emptive blow to future AIs that Yudkowsky has called for in print.

    2024 February 17, Tom Lamont, “‘Humanity’s remaining timeline? It looks more like five years than 50’: meet the neo-luddites warning of an AI apocalypse”, in The Guardian, →ISSN

neo-Luddite2

adjectiveneo-Luddite (comparative more neo-Luddite, superlative most neo-Luddite)

comparative more neo-Luddite · superlative most neo-Luddite · alternative neo-luddite

  1. derogatorysometimesOpposed to technology, in the fashion of the Luddites.

    One is a neo-Luddite revolt, aiming to destroy machines and machine systems […]

    1970, Robert Theobald, The Economics of Abundance: A Non-inflationary Future, page 130
    5 more examples

    Last along the spectrum comes a diverse set of social critics, activists and intellectuals for the most part, who accept the neo-Luddite label without demur and are consciously working to adapt certain of the Luddite fundamentals to contemporary politics.

    1995, Kirkpatrick Sale, Rebels Against the Future: The Luddites and Their War on the Industrial Revolution, →ISBN, page 254

    One such collection of thoughts is the neo-Luddite spectrum. Not yet an organized movement, the neo-Luddite approach contains multitudes of […]

    2003, Christina Garsten, Helena Wulff, New Technologies at Work: People, Screens and Social Virtuality, page 172

    However, as the original Luddites did, a small number of people within the neo-Luddite movement have resorted to criminal activity.

    2004, Peyton Paxson, Media Literacy: Thinking Critically about the Internet, page 17

    Past neo-Luddite movements have, it should be noted, come and gone. In the 1990s, activist writers such as Kirkpatrick Sale called for a neo-Luddism that rejected the computer age altogether, arguing that “a world dominated by the technologies of industrial society is fundamentally more detrimental than beneficial to human happiness and survival.”

    2024 February 2, Brian Merchant, “The New Luddites Aren’t Backing Down”, in The Atlantic

    Nick Hilton, host of a neo-luddite podcast called The Ned Ludd Radio Hour, has invited me over for a cup of tea.

    2024 February 17, Tom Lamont, “‘Humanity’s remaining timeline? It looks more like five years than 50’: meet the neo-luddites warning of an AI apocalypse”, in The Guardian, →ISSN
nounneo-Luddite (plural neo-Luddites)

plural neo-Luddites · alternative neo-luddite

  1. derogatorysometimesOne who opposes technology or scientific progress, in the fashion of the Luddites.

    "Neo-Luddite," I said to myself. A filthy accusation.

    1985, Greg Bear, “Blood Music”, in The Collected Stories of Greg Bear, published 2004, page 32
    2 more examples

    Yet the neo-Luddite resistance is remarkably disparate. Some flee to the woods; others, taking a less courageous stand, are content to dis the microwave oven and cellular phone. But on one major point, neo-Luddites agree: They would loathe computerization even if hordes of unwitting neo-Luddites hadn't suddenly made technophobia so trendy.

    1995 July, Bob Ickes, “Die, Computer, Die!”, in New York, →ISSN, page 24

    Where a techno-pessimist like Yudkowsky would have us address the biggest-picture threats conceivable[…] neo-luddites tend to focus on ground-level concerns. Employment, especially, because this is where technology enriched by AIs seems to be causing the most pain.

    2024 February 17, Tom Lamont, “‘Humanity’s remaining timeline? It looks more like five years than 50’: meet the neo-luddites warning of an AI apocalypse”, in The Guardian, →ISSN

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*nu
  2. Proto-Indo-European*néwos
  3. Proto-Hellenic*néwos
  4. Ancient Greekνέος (néos)
  5. Ancient Greekνεο- (neo-)
  6. Englishneo-
  7. EnglishLuddite
  8. Englishneo-Luddite

From neo- + Luddite.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

French néo-luddiste
  • néo-luddisteOne who opposes technology
Spanish neoludita
  • neoluditaOne who opposes technology
Swedish neoluddit
  • neoludditOne who opposes technology
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

Source: neo-luddite on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.