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A word to describe "political buyer's remorse"

English Language & Usage Asked on January 17, 2021

Numbers (from 2015) show over 3.5 million people in the UK signed a petition to “do over” the Brexit Referendum. Interestingly, the "do-over" Google question coupled with “What is the EU?” showed more hits for searchers in Great Britain than in the US, which would seem to indicate that many people made an uninformed decision in voting on that Thursday. Some have said that if they had known that the UK would actually leave the EU, they never would have voted for “Leave”.????

This is already being called Regrexit by news agencies.

As the US is facing an election in which neither of the candidates has a clear-cut advantage in ratings, it looks like Americans will probably need a word to describe the regret that will inevitably ensue when they realize they are not happy with their choice for president.

For example, after the 2008 US elections…

…and one-third are suffering a form of buyer’s remorse, saying the U.S. would be better off now if she (Hilary Clinton) had become president in 2008 instead of Barack Obama.

Is there another word, phrase or neologism that would more specifically describe this regret, other than political buyer’s remorse?

[EDIT- year 2020 four years later]

Once again we are waiting for yet another election,,,

One Answer

Voter's remorse would seem to be a straightforward parallel, and has a fair amount of usage.

The political equivalent of buyer's remorse is voter's remorse. --The Atlantic 2007-04 http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2007/04/voters-remorse/305859/

Voters’ Remorse: Brits Regret Vote To Leave EU, Claim They Didn’t Know Their Votes Would Count; Millennials Especially Upset By Brexit Vote --Inquisitor headline 2016-06-25 http://www.inquisitr.com/3242585/voters-remorse-brits-regret-vote-to-leave-eu-claim-they-didnt-know-their-votes-would-count-millennials-especially-upset-by-brexit-vote/

Answered by 1006a on January 17, 2021

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