Definition of NEPOTISM

Nepotism Has Papal Origins

During his papacy from 1471-1484, Sixtus IV granted many special favors to members of his family, in particular his nephews. This practice of papal favoritism was carried on by his successors, and in 1667 it was the subject of Gregorio Leti's book Il Nepotismo di Roma-titled in the English translation, The History of the Popes' Nephews. Shortly after the book's appearance, nepotism began to be used in English for the showing of special favor or unfair preference to any relative by someone in any position of power, be it ecclesiastical or not. (The "nep-" spelling is from nepote, a 17th-century variant of Italian nipote, meaning "nephew.")

Examples of nepotism in a Sentence

Nepotism has hurt the company.

Recent Examples on the Web

However, in a shocking lack of nepotism from MTV, the award actually went to the very deserving Dan Levy of Schitt’s Creek. — Melissa Locker, Time, "2019 MTV Movie & TV Awards: All the Wildest, Wackiest, Weirdest Moments," 18 June 2019 Allegations of nepotism against Prayuth’s own relatives have led to uncomfortable accusations of hypocrisy for a man who pledged to end corruption as justification for the coup. — Washington Post, "Thai coup leader uses ballot box to stay as prime minister," 6 June 2019 His critics say corruption and nepotism have kept Nazarbayev’s grip on political and economic power. — Sabra Ayres, latimes.com, "Presidents may come and go. In Kazakhstan, there’s only one Father of the Nation," 6 June 2019 However, his time in power was marred by allegations of wartime atrocities, corruption and nepotism. — Bharatha Mallawarachi, The Seattle Times, "Sri Lanka lawmakers linked to disputed PM boycott Parliament," 27 Nov. 2018 That has deepened economic hardship in the region and increased anger against the region’s secular ruling parties, which have led the region for decades and are accused by many Kurds of corruption and nepotism. — Isabel Coles And, WSJ, "Gunmen Attack Government Building in Northern Iraq," 23 July 2018 Liberia’s economy has grown enormously since the civil war but many feel Johnson Sirleaf could have achieved more; the president has been accused of nepotism and failing to crack down on corruption. — Nick Powell, Houston Chronicle, "David Collins named winner over incumbent Maceo in closely contested Galveston council race," 14 May 2018 Ideally, many former Soviet ruling elites, including those in Armenia, would like to see the revolution fail.’’ The uprising sent a clear message that nepotism and corruption cannot prevail indefinitely, Gevorgyan said. — Washington Post, BostonGlobe.com, "Armenian Parliament elects opposition leader as prime minister," 8 May 2018 The biggest obstacles and difficulties are due to lack of state support, lack of courage and daring on the part of Spain’s publishing houses, the nepotism in the cultural media and favoritism in the culture in general. — New York Times, "In Spain, Searching for Ancestors, Dry Wine and Calm Seas," 16 Jan. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'nepotism.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.