Joseph BergerEsquireDonald KenrickClaire Gillespie
The History and Dictionary Meanings of Racism and Racist: Usage Guide
Racism and racist appear to be words of recent origin, with no citations currently known that would suggest these words were in use prior to the early 20th century. But the fact that the words are fairly new does not prove that the concept of racism did not exist in the distant past. Things may have words to describe them before they exist (spaceship, for instance, has been in use since the 19th century, well before the rocket-fired vessels were invented), and things may exist for a considerable time before they are given names (T-shirt does not appear in print until the 20th century, although the article of clothing existed prior to 1900). Dictionaries are often treated as the final arbiter in arguments over a word's meaning, but they are not always well suited for settling disputes. The lexicographer's role is to explain how words are (or have been) actually used, not how some may feel that they should be used, and they say nothing about the intrinsic nature of the thing named or described by a word, much less the significance it may have for individuals. When discussing concepts like racism, therefore, it is prudent to recognize that quoting from a dictionary is unlikely to either mollify or persuade the person with whom one is arguing.
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Examples of racist in a Sentence
Chuck Schilken, Los Angeles Times, 7 May 2024
Fans may believe that uncovering the racist roots of the Churchill family tree will tarnish the image of the event and diminish its delight.
—TIME, 4 May 2024
Understand that the only way to do that is to draw a line in the sand and set very clear guidelines about behavior that is racist, violent, and unlawful.
—Gil Mandelzis, Fortune, 4 May 2024
That same year, Wood, Boyd, Monaghan, and Astin also voiced their support for spinoff series Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power amid a barrage of racist attacks made against its cast.
—EW.com, 4 May 2024
In one episode, a college campus visit(*) threatens to go awry when a supercut of racist jokes in Deborah’s old act goes viral.
—Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 2 May 2024
Coeur D'Alene and northern Idaho became known as a haven for extremism and racist groups in the 1970s and '80s when the Aryan Nations relocated its headquarters there.
—Kirk Siegler, NPR, 7 May 2024
Some Arizona property deeds contain racist restrictions.
—Raphael Romero Ruiz, The Arizona Republic, 7 May 2024
As a result of racist housing policies and governmental neglect, many children have been exposed to lead in their water or paint, live in food deserts and deal with other environmental stressors that affect their development.
—Rory Linnane, Journal Sentinel, 7 May 2024
Jonah E. Bromwich, New York Times, 18 Apr. 2024
And in 2020, the company fired Timnit Gebru, a prominent AI researcher who had written a paper laying out how Google’s new AI algorithms could parrot the racist and sexist biases found in the internet data they were trained on.
—Gerrit De Vynck, Washington Post, 18 Apr. 2024
But the road to the dismantling of this illiberal, anti-science, racist, and now antisemitic ideology promises to be long and hard.
—Richard T. Bosshardt, National Review, 17 Apr. 2024
This week, the department released a video of an interview an officer conducted with a University of Utah women’s basketball booster who called police to report that a group of racists revving truck engines and yelling slurs victimized players on the team.
—Alexandra Duggan and, Idaho Statesman, 31 Mar. 2024
Many of the bits center on race and/or stereotypes, like the one about two enslaved men who are insecure when nobody wants to bid on them at an auction, or the iconic substitute teacher sketch, or the skit that asks an age-old question: Is this country song racist?
—Kevin Jacobsen and Hope Lasater, EW.com, 21 Mar. 2024
Hurtado said Ureña has called her racist for objecting to speaking Spanish from the dais.
—Hailey Branson-Potts, Los Angeles Times, 10 Apr. 2024
Silvio and Stephan Marsan allegedly sent racist, homophobic and antisemitic memes and messages in group chats with a number of Brandy Melville employees.
—Jordan Greene, Peoplemag, 9 Apr. 2024
In the film, which airs on HBO on Tuesday, helmer Eva Orner highlights allegations of a racist, sexist and discriminatory work environment at cult teen-girl brand Brandy Melville from former employees at various levels of the label.
—Katie Kilkenny, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'racist.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near racist
Cite this Entry
“Racist.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/racist. Accessed 11 May. 2024.
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