"wu wei" meaning in English

See wu wei in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Noun

Etymology: Borrowed from Chinese 無為/无为 (wúwéi). Etymology templates: {{bor+|en|zh|無為}} Borrowed from Chinese 無為/无为 (wúwéi) Head templates: {{en-noun|-|nolinkhead=1}} wu wei (uncountable)
  1. A state of effortless inaction, in Taoism or Chinese statecraft. Tags: uncountable Categories (topical): Taoism Synonyms: wu-wei
    Sense id: en-wu_wei-en-noun-eK9eBm1K Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries

Alternative forms

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  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "zh",
        "3": "無為"
      },
      "expansion": "Borrowed from Chinese 無為/无为 (wúwéi)",
      "name": "bor+"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "Borrowed from Chinese 無為/无为 (wúwéi).",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "-",
        "nolinkhead": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "wu wei (uncountable)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
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          "source": "w"
        },
        {
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          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "topical",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Taoism",
          "orig": "en:Taoism",
          "parents": [
            "China",
            "Religion",
            "Asia",
            "Culture",
            "Earth",
            "Eurasia",
            "Society",
            "Nature",
            "All topics",
            "Fundamental"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2013, Benjamin Noys, quoting Franco Berardi, Malign Velocities: Accelerationism and Capitalism, Zero Books, →ISBN:",
          "text": "These alternatives seem tepid, or even reactionary – take Franco ‘Bifo’ Berardi’s invocation of a politics of exhaustion that would ‘become the beginning of a slow movement toward a “wu wei” civilization, based on withdrawal, and frugal expectations for life and consumption’.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A state of effortless inaction, in Taoism or Chinese statecraft."
      ],
      "id": "en-wu_wei-en-noun-eK9eBm1K",
      "links": [
        [
          "state",
          "state"
        ],
        [
          "effortless",
          "effortless"
        ],
        [
          "inaction",
          "inaction"
        ],
        [
          "Taoism",
          "Taoism"
        ],
        [
          "Chinese",
          "Chinese"
        ],
        [
          "statecraft",
          "statecraft"
        ]
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "wu-wei"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "uncountable"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "wu wei"
}
{
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "zh",
        "3": "無為"
      },
      "expansion": "Borrowed from Chinese 無為/无为 (wúwéi)",
      "name": "bor+"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "Borrowed from Chinese 無為/无为 (wúwéi).",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "-",
        "nolinkhead": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "wu wei (uncountable)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
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  "lang_code": "en",
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  "senses": [
    {
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        "English entries with incorrect language header",
        "English lemmas",
        "English multiword terms",
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        "English uncountable nouns",
        "Pages with 1 entry",
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        "Requests for pronunciation in English entries",
        "en:Taoism"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2013, Benjamin Noys, quoting Franco Berardi, Malign Velocities: Accelerationism and Capitalism, Zero Books, →ISBN:",
          "text": "These alternatives seem tepid, or even reactionary – take Franco ‘Bifo’ Berardi’s invocation of a politics of exhaustion that would ‘become the beginning of a slow movement toward a “wu wei” civilization, based on withdrawal, and frugal expectations for life and consumption’.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A state of effortless inaction, in Taoism or Chinese statecraft."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "state",
          "state"
        ],
        [
          "effortless",
          "effortless"
        ],
        [
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          "inaction"
        ],
        [
          "Taoism",
          "Taoism"
        ],
        [
          "Chinese",
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        ],
        [
          "statecraft",
          "statecraft"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
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      ]
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "word": "wu-wei"
    }
  ],
  "word": "wu wei"
}

Download raw JSONL data for wu wei meaning in English (1.5kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-12-21 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-12-04 using wiktextract (d8cb2f3 and 4e554ae). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

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