English
racism
Pronunciation
  • (America) IPA: /ˈɹeɪsɪzm̩/
Noun

racism (uncountable)

  1. Belief that there are distinct human races with inherent differences which determine their abilities, and generally that some are superior and others inferior.
    • 2011, Jane H. Hill, The Everyday Language of White Racism (ISBN 1444356690), page 1987:
      But other kinds of talk and text that are not visible, so called covert racist discourse, may be just as important in reproducing the culturally shared ideas that underpin racism.
  2. The policies, practices, or systems (e.g. government or political) promoting this belief or promoting the dominance of one or more races over others.
    Malcolm X and Martin Luther King both spoke out against racism.
    • 2013, Tyler T. Schmidt, Desegregating Desire (ISBN 1617037834):
      In “Crazy for This Democracy” (1945), Hurston critiques the US government's racism at home and abroad, including its silence on the anticolonial movements in Africa.
  3. Prejudice or discrimination based upon race or ethnicity; (countable) an action of such discrimination.
    • 2007, Joseph Godson Amamoo, Ghana: 50 years of independence:
      For, if racism against non-whites is morally wrong and unjustifiable, then how can racism against whites be morally right and justifiable?
    • 2016, Bernard Guerin, How to Rethink Human Behavior (ISBN 1317302400):
      This was partly true, but the biggest thing stopping him was that he had tried going to a college in Adelaide before and grew tired of the little racisms and discrimination that he got there.
Synonyms
  • (racial discrimination) seeSynonyms en
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