I. ˈməˌgwəmp noun
( -s )
Etymology: Natick mugquomp, mugwomp captain, probably from mogki great + -omp man
1. : a person of importance : chief 2a — often a generalized expression of disapproval
2.
a. often capitalized : a bolter from the Republican party in the presidential election of 1884
b. : one that withdraws his support from a political group or organization : a regular member who bolts a party and adopts an independent position
3. : one who is undecided or neutral (as in politics) often as a result of an inability to make up his mind : fence-sitter
too much of a mugwump to be a politician — Bernard Kalb
was at twenty still a restless mental mugwump — D.C.Peattie
a party question with the partisans lined up pro and contra and the mugwumps sorely perplexed — Century Magazine
II. intransitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
: to act as or adopt the position of a mugwump