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

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for apartheid
  1. segregation
  2. discrimination
Noun
  • Through Jim Crow segregation and the Civil Rights era, those leaders were nearly all Democrats.
    — BILL BARROW, Arkansas Online, 8 Nov. 2026
  • Through Jim Crow segregation and the civil rights era, those leaders were nearly all Democrats.
    — Bill Barrow, Los Angeles Times, 7 Nov. 2026
Definition of segregation
Noun
  • The government is also seeking that Lyft pay a civil penalty to vindicate the public’s interest in eliminating disability discrimination.
    — Nadine El-Bawab, ABC News, 10 Nov. 2026
  • Information about someone’s mental health, HIV or STI status, medications, pregnancy or other medical concerns can expose them to stigma, discrimination or even criminalization.
    — Wendy Stark, New York Daily News, 10 Nov. 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.

Browse Nearby Words

apart from
apartheid
apartment
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Apartheid.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/apartheid. Accessed 14 Nov. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on apartheid

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about apartheid

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

31 Useful Rhetorical Devices

More Commonly Misspelled Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Longest Long Words List

The Words of the Week - Nov. 13

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
speech-bubble-untangle
Simplify The Convoluted Expression Quiz A quiz that’s as “uncomplicated as a round de...
See All