apartheid

noun

Definition of apartheidnext
as in segregation
a former social system in South Africa in which black people and people from other racial groups did not have the same political and economic rights as white people and were forced to live separately from white people

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for apartheid
  1. segregation
  2. discrimination
Noun
  • His speech was part of a campaign to fight housing segregation in Chicago.
    — Adam Harrington, CBS News, 13 July 2026
  • Spending limits, segregation of duties, approval thresholds and mandatory human checkpoints—these have to be built into the system so the agent can't route around them.
    — Rahul Bhatia, Forbes.com, 8 July 2026
Definition of segregation
Noun
  • The order has led the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to drop discrimination cases on behalf of some workers.
    — Barbara Ortutay, Fortune, 15 July 2026
  • The county months later terminated Leopold for cause after an unrelated workplace discrimination and harassment complaint, saying the decision was not related to the fatal crash.
    — Nicole Buss, Sacbee.com, 14 July 2026
Definition of discrimination
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Cite this Entry

“Apartheid.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/apartheid. Accessed 17 Jul. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on apartheid

Nglish: Translation of apartheid for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about apartheid

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