Southernism

noun

South·​ern·​ism ˈsə-t͟hər-ˌni-zəm 

1

: an attitude or trait characteristic of the South or Southerners especially in the U.S.

2

: a locution or pronunciation characteristic of the southern U.S.

Examples of Southernism in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

His patterns, his slick talk, his mixing of hip-hop-isms with the call and response, the Southernism of fish and grits, just amazing. — New York Times, 28 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1851, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for Southernism

• autism
• fascism
• racism
• sikhism
• sophism
• statism
• sufism
• thomism
• tourism
• tropism
• abolitionism
• aldosteronism