affirmative action

noun

Definition 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 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Different From the Other Ways Rich Parents Help Their Kids Get Into School," 13 Mar. 2019 The administration this week rescinded Obama-era policies encouraging affirmative action in higher education.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 2018 The case made it to the Supreme Court in 2013, and had the potential to change the Court's standing on the legality of affirmative action in college decisions. — Chloe Foussianes, Town & Country, "A Timeline of the Harvard Affirmative Action Lawsuit," 2 Nov. 2018 Overall, Asian-American voters approve of affirmative action in college admissions, polls suggest. — Michelle Hackman, WSJ, "Republicans Court Asian Voters With a New Message: End Affirmative Action," 1 Nov. 2018 The case is the latest legal battle in the nation’s long-running debate over affirmative action in higher education. — Nick Anderson, Washington Post, "How to protect Harvard admission secrets? Judge says it’s like shielding ‘recipe for Coke.’," 10 Apr. 2018

These 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.

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affirmation

affirmation of the consequent

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Last Updated

29 Apr 2019

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The first known use of affirmative action was in 1961

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More Definitions for affirmative action

affirmative action

noun

English Language Learners Definition of affirmative action

chiefly US : the practice of improving the educational and job opportunities of members of groups that have not been treated fairly in the past because of their race, sex, etc.

See the full definition for affirmative action in the English Language Learners Dictionary

affirmative action

noun