Definition of XENOPHOBIA

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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 the late 19th century.

Examples of xenophobia in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Our nation, currently led by men and women who subscribe to ideology based on nationalism and xenophobia, is turning into a country of chaos, one that looks less like freedom and more like fascism every day. — Alexis Dent, Harper's BAZAAR, "We Are Gilead," 26 June 2018 Just five of the 32 artists were born in L.A. while eight hail from other countries, a mix that reinforces the virtue of cosmopolitanism in a period marked by a disturbing xenophobia. — Christopher Knight, latimes.com, "Spring art exhibitions that transport to Laguna, Teotihuacan, Iran and beyond," 22 Mar. 2018 One item is a children’s book by American Nazi Party founder George Lincoln Rockwell that appears intended to promote xenophobia. — David Z. Morris, Fortune, "Amazon Sold Books, Backpacks, and Toys Promoting Hate to Kids, Report Shows," 7 July 2018 The deepest stains identified in the Slater case by Conan Doyle were not of blood, but the darker tones of anti-Semitism and xenophobia. — The Economist, "When Arthur Conan Doyle cried “J’Accuse…!”," 7 July 2018 There are, of course, both policy and flesh-and-blood implications for normalizing xenophobia and denying that white supremacism exists. — Mari Uyehara, GQ, "How Free Speech Warriors Mainstreamed White Supremacists," 8 May 2018 The arguments about preserving culture from immigration are just xenophobia. — NBC News, "Far-right mayor hails success of Hungary-Serbia border fence," 2 May 2018 His rhetoric has shocked many Italians, drawing accusations of xenophobia. — Giovanni Legorano, WSJ, "Italy’s Salvini Puts Roadblocks in Migrants’ Way While Reaching Out to Fellow European Populists," 27 June 2018 The history of our love/fear relationship with MSG is wrought with bad science and more than a dash of xenophobia. — Yvette D'entremont, SELF, "We All Really Need to Stop Freaking Out About MSG," 20 June 2018

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.