English

Noun

racism ‎(countable and uncountable, plural racisms)

1. The belief that each race has distinct and intrinsic attributes.
2. The belief that one race or group of races is superior or inferior to another race or group of races.
3. Prejudice or discrimination based upon race.

   Malcolm X and Martin Luther King both spoke out against racism.

   • 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?

Quotations

For usage examples of this term, see Citations:racism.

Usage notes

• Different people define race differently, so, naturally, different people define racism differently.
• While racism is, per se, usually tied to race, some speakers will (controversially) use the term in other cases as well:
  • 2002, Tom Carter-Smith, Sex – an Apology for Love, NORDISC Music & Text, ISBN 87-88619-09-5, page 99,

    The reason for this was the general prejudice (read: racism) against gays among “straight” people; the government simply didn't want the public to be appalled by posters and TV adds with “queers”.

• The term reverse racism has been used to describe racism (in one sense or another) by a group that has traditionally been oppressed, against a traditionally more-empowered group. However, some argue that this distinction does not need to be made, and advocate using simply the term racism; others have argued conversely that the term racism should not be used at all in such cases.
• For many speakers, the term racism implies conscious belief or behavior, but this distinction is not universally held.

Derived terms

Related terms

Hypernyms

• bigotry

Coordinate terms

• ableism
• ageism
• apartheid
• aporophobia
• heterosexism
• sexism
• xenophobia

Translations

See also