Definition of xenophobia
: fear and hatred of strangers or foreigners or of anything that is strange or foreign
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Recent Examples of xenophobia from the Web
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The resistance against racism, xenophobia, and other forms of hate that have escalated around the globe comes in all forms.
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At the end of the video, a young black man and Muslim woman are seen looking at each other while police point guns at them, suggesting the similarities between the prejudice and discrimination of xenophobia and racism in America.
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In recent years — mostly thanks to the Jungle — Calais and its environs have developed a particular reputation for a certain xenophobia, with migrants frequently complaining of vigilante reprisals from ordinary citizens.
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From May 23 to June 5, the women took a road trip, stopping specifically in small towns to make murals that were anti-white supremacy, anti-misogyny and anti-xenophobia.
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In Europe and here, right-wing nationalism was on the rise, riding a wave of xenophobia in the years since the 2008 financial collapse.
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The fulminating xenophobia of a Le Pen or Steve Bannon may be repugnant, but equally unreasonable and out of touch are the trade dogmas of the Davos group or open borders notions now embraced by many on the left.
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In the end, however, many who opposed globalization from the left were unwilling to support a party associated with xenophobia and anti-Semitism.
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Like The Handmaid's Tale, which coincidentally arrived just after the election of a president who marginalizes women, American Gods is here during a time of extreme American xenophobia.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'xenophobia.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Did You Know?
If you look back to the ancient Greek terms that underlie the word xenophobia, you'll discover that xenophobic individuals are literally "stranger fearing." Xenophobia, that elegant-sounding name for an aversion to persons unfamiliar, ultimately derives from two Greek terms: xenos, which can be translated as either "stranger" or "guest," and phobos, which means either "fear" or "flight." Phobos is the ultimate source of all English -phobia terms, but many of those were actually coined in English or New Latin using the combining form -phobia (which traces back to phobos). Xenophobia itself came to us by way of New Latin and first appeared in print in English in 1903.
Origin and Etymology of xenophobia
New Latin
Other Psychology Terms
XENOPHOBIA Defined for English Language Learners
xenophobia
playDefinition of xenophobia for English Language Learners
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: fear or hatred of strangers or foreigners
Medical Dictionary
Learn More about xenophobia
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See words that rhyme with xenophobia Spanish Central: Translation of xenophobia Nglish: Translation of xenophobia for Spanish speakers
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