plural Tutsi or Tutsis
: a member of a people of Rwanda and Burundi probably of Nilotic origin
Tu·si
variants
or less commonly Tussi
or Tutsi
ˈtüsē,
-si
plural Tusi or Tusis also Tussi or Tussis or Tutsi or Tutsis
: the ruling and cattle-owning class of the Rundi in Urundi in East Africa who presumably are cognate with the Hima people northward and whose extreme average height suggests an affinity with the Nilotes
called also Watusi
Examples of Tutsi in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Chinedu Asadu, Los Angeles Times, 27 June 2025
There were no serious transitional justice programs, no adequate land reform projects to address rural poverty and inequality, and the stigmatization of the Congolese Tutsi community—one driver of the current conflict––was never addressed.
—Joshua Z. Walker, Foreign Affairs, 17 June 2025
It was established to remember members of the Tutsi community, an African ethnic group, who were killed or injured in the atrocities.
—Dr. Ewelina U. Ochab, Forbes.com, 27 Apr. 2025
In the 100 days that followed, Hutu extremists slaughtered and raped hundreds of thousands of minority Tutsi and Hutu moderates.
—John Annese, New York Daily News, 24 Apr. 2025
Speaking in French, Swahili and Kinyarwanda — the language of Rwanda and of many Congolese Hutu and Tutsi — the leaders vowed to march on Kinshasa.
—Emmet Livingstone, The Dial, 20 Mar. 2025
Advertisement Much like how Russia has justified the occupation of Donbas, Rwanda claims to be protecting an ethnic minority—in this case, the Tutsi community, which lives in both countries.
—Jason K. Stearns, TIME, 19 Mar. 2025
Between 500,000 to 800,000 people belonging to the Tutsi minority ethnic group, as well as some moderate Hutu and Twa were killed by armed Hutu militias over the course of 100 days between April 7 and July 15, 1994.
—Zac Ntim, Deadline, 16 Feb. 2025
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Noun
The conflict can be traced to the aftermath of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, where Hutu militias killed between 500,000 and 1 million ethnic Tutsi, as well as moderate Hutus and Twa, Indigenous people.
—Chinedu Asadu, Los Angeles Times, 27 June 2025
There were no serious transitional justice programs, no adequate land reform projects to address rural poverty and inequality, and the stigmatization of the Congolese Tutsi community—one driver of the current conflict––was never addressed.
—Joshua Z. Walker, Foreign Affairs, 17 June 2025
It was established to remember members of the Tutsi community, an African ethnic group, who were killed or injured in the atrocities.
—Dr. Ewelina U. Ochab, Forbes.com, 27 Apr. 2025
In the 100 days that followed, Hutu extremists slaughtered and raped hundreds of thousands of minority Tutsi and Hutu moderates.
—John Annese, New York Daily News, 24 Apr. 2025
Speaking in French, Swahili and Kinyarwanda — the language of Rwanda and of many Congolese Hutu and Tutsi — the leaders vowed to march on Kinshasa.
—Emmet Livingstone, The Dial, 20 Mar. 2025
Advertisement Much like how Russia has justified the occupation of Donbas, Rwanda claims to be protecting an ethnic minority—in this case, the Tutsi community, which lives in both countries.
—Jason K. Stearns, TIME, 19 Mar. 2025
Between 500,000 to 800,000 people belonging to the Tutsi minority ethnic group, as well as some moderate Hutu and Twa were killed by armed Hutu militias over the course of 100 days between April 7 and July 15, 1994.
—Zac Ntim, Deadline, 16 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Tutsi.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Tutsi. Accessed 18 Jun. 2026.
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