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In the early 20th century, the noun hyphenate referred to a resident or citizen of the U.S. whose recent foreign national origin caused others to question his or her patriotic loyalties - with or without there being just cause for that questioning. These hyphenates - the Irish-Americans, German-Americans, and others - were objects of suspicion. The hyphenates we're highlighting today are more often objects of admiration. Since around 1974, we've been referring to people with hyphens in their titles - producer-directors, for example, as hyphenates.
Examples of hyphenate in a Sentence
Jerry Brewer, Washington Post, 27 July 2024
The name is long, hyphenated, hard to spell and nearly impossible to pronounce.
—Haben Kelati, Washington Post, 19 June 2024
Hugh Hart, Los Angeles Times, 13 Aug. 2024
During his long introduction to the film’s premiere at SXSW last night, the hyphenate talked about his childhood love of Bruce Lee and name-checked both Indonesian and Korean action cinema in addition to a certain Keanu Reeves franchise.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 12 Mar. 2024
See all Example Sentences for hyphenate 
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hyphenate.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near hyphenate
Cite this Entry
“Hyphenate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hyphenate. Accessed 1 Oct. 2024.
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