Definition of racialismnext
1
as in racism
the belief that certain races of people are by birth and nature superior to others the racialism of some of the nation's founders seems to contradict their professed belief that "all men are created equal"

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2
as in prejudice
hatred of or discrimination against a person or persons based on their race an ugly incident of racialism that campus police are investigating

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Recent Examples of racialism Internally, the adoption of multi-racialism as a policy was designed to diminish—even if, initially, imperceptibly—the social and economic influence of white South Africans, and to displace them, at least partly, by the local petite bourgeoisie. The Editors, JSTOR Daily, 15 Aug. 2025 In our day, he is reviled for his imperialism, racialism, and even his humorously excessive appreciation for a fine cigar. Peter J. Travers, National Review, 7 Dec. 2021 Today, certain people talk about racialism, indigenism, and decolonial theories, but beneath these terms hateful and fanatical agitators want a race war. Harrison Stetler, The New Republic, 24 May 2021 King never seriously entertained the utopian ideas of Black emigration or the romantic racialism of Muhammad’s Black nationalism. Brandon M. Terry, The New York Review of Books, 11 Mar. 2021 Post-racialism is the promise of working to move beyond the perils of the Black condition in America, an achievement of Black acceleration and exceptionalism; when transcending race was aspirational and thought of to be wholly possible. Taylor Renee Aldridge, Harper's BAZAAR, 23 Feb. 2021 Hawley describes Roosevelt as driven by a combination of warrior republicanism and crude racialism, which at times led him to adopt autocratic racial theories and dreams of imperial conquest. Zaid Jilani, Washington Examiner, 31 Dec. 2020 This seed of scientific racialism waxed and reached its peaks in the years around 1900, before waning in the 20th century. Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 24 Aug. 2011
Recent Examples of Synonyms for racialism
Noun
  • In that sense Cunningham’s view is largely seen as only further marginalizing a trans community already suffering from lack of understanding, prejudice and bullying.
    Greg Cote August 14, Miami Herald, 14 Aug. 2026
  • Tempered by generations of poverty, war, and rank prejudice, so many Afghan women refuse to be bowed or broken.
    Mark Sappenfield, Christian Science Monitor, 14 Aug. 2026
Noun
  • Playing for the Dodgers at Brooklyn’s Ebbets Field, Robinson effectively ended more than five decades of segregation in the sport.
    Riley Jones, Footwear News, 15 Aug. 2026
  • Rosenwald family resources helped provide the facilities that made possible the accomplishments of the Tuskegee airmen, and supported NAACP legal efforts that ultimately overturned school segregation.
    Harold Pollack, Chicago Tribune, 14 Aug. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Racialism.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/racialism. Accessed 20 Aug. 2026.

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