second-hander

noun

A person who is primarily concerned with being esteemed and valued by others, at the expense of forming his/her own independent worldview; a person who derives their decisions from the worldview of others, with the sole metric of merit based on how others will receive and accept their decision not based on merit or truth but on popular perception.

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Meanings

nounsecond-hander (plural second-handers)

plural second-handers

  1. derogatorychiefly ObjectivismA person who is primarily concerned with being esteemed and valued by others, at the expense of forming his/her own independent worldview; a person who derives their decisions from the worldview of others, with the sole metric of merit based on how others will receive and accept their decision not based on merit or truth but on popular perception.

Origin

From second-hand + -er, coined by Ayn Rand.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

second-hander. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/second-hander

MLA

“second-hander.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/second-hander. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “second-hander,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/second-hander.

Source: second-hander on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.