SINCE 1828
affirmative action
nounDefinition of affirmative action
: an active effort to improve the employment or educational opportunities of members of minority groups and women
sought to achieve a multicultural staff through affirmative action
also
: a similar effort to promote the rights or progress of other disadvantaged persons
Examples of affirmative action in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The impulse to validate affirmative action is good, but the Board is not a government agency. — Annie Abrams, The New Republic, "The College Board Hopes to Profit from “Adversity”," 6 June 2019 The mandate came in a deal the medical school struck with the Education Department in February, concluding a 14-year federal investigation into the university’s use of affirmative action, according... — Michelle Hackman, WSJ, "U.S. Requires Texas Tech Med School to End Use of Race in Admissions Decisions," 9 Apr. 2019 Trump’s pick, if confirmed, could also be a deciding factor in matters related to affirmative action, religious liberties, and capital punishment. — Claire Zillman, Fortune, "Think President Trump Is About to Remake the Federal Judiciary? To Some Degree, He Already Has," 8 July 2018 The recent affirmative action trial involving Harvard put this on display. — Tyler Kingkade, Town & Country, "How the College Admissions Scandal Is Different From the Other Ways Rich Parents Help Their Kids Get Into School," 13 Mar. 2019 The administration this week rescinded Obama-era policies encouraging affirmative action in higher education. — David Lauter, latimes.com, "As Trump readies Supreme Court pick, Democrats prepare a fight even though a loss is likely," 6 July 2018 The court has ruled that colleges and universities can use affirmative action to help minority students get into school, but conservatives over the years have argued that these programs hurt the chances of white and Asian-American applicants. — Andrew O'reilly, Fox News, "Trump administration is breaking from Obama-era affirmative action policies," 2 Oct. 2018 During his earlier stint as prime minister, Mr. Mahathir perpetuated an affirmative action scheme for Malays that was designed to erase the long years of discrimination under British colonial rule. — New York Times, "Malaysia Finds an Unlikely Champion of Democracy: Its Ex-Strongman," 11 May 2018 Even with Kennedy on the court, affirmative action faced an uncertain future. — NBC News, "Trump admin reverses Obama, prods schools to ignore racial factors in admissions," 3 July 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'affirmative action.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Keep scrolling for more
Keep scrolling for more
Comments on affirmative action
What made you want to look up affirmative action? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).
Test Your Vocabulary
Finance Words Quiz
-
- The etymology of mortgage is related most closely to which two words?
Test your knowledge - and maybe learn something along the way.
TAKE THE QUIZ
Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.
TAKE THE QUIZLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Words at Play
Ask the Editors
Share affirmative action
Resources for affirmative action