Meanings
comparative more verkramp · superlative most verkramp
- South AfricaPolitically conservative.
Over the years, Afrikaners developed a reputation for being verkramp[…]
2006, Sarah Britten, The Art of the South African Insult, page 253 more examples
Many a person when he enters for the first time the home of another these days inclines to ask himself, not whether the man is rich or poor, fond of dogs or gardening, but whether he is verkramp or verlig.
1977, Alexander Steward, The world, the West, and Pretoria, page 212The Hertzog Group supporters were labelled verkramp, and the Vorster supporters verlig. The fact, of course, is that the vast majority of Afrikaner Nationalists were and are verkramp, and only a small minority verlig.
1979, J. H. P. Serfontein, Brotherhood of Power: An Exposé of the Secret Afrikaner BroederbondHe made a speech which suggested that this process must be inclusive, that everyone must be pulled into the process. That is the type of approach that we need from the NPA which gives the distinct impression that it is verkramp, is lagging behind […]
1991, South Africa. Parliament, Debates of Parliament: Hansard (volume 9, issues 8-11, page 4171)
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
- Afrikaansverkramp“narrow, cramped”
- Englishverkramp
Borrowed from Afrikaans verkramp (“narrow, cramped”).
More words from Afrikaans
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
verkramp. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/verkramp
“verkramp.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/verkramp. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “verkramp,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/verkramp.
Source: verkramp on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.