xenophobia

Definition of xenophobianext
as in nativism
fear or hatred of strangers or foreigners

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Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of xenophobia The wall of xenophobia and bigotry, turned on its side, can be a table. — Josh Fox, IndieWire, 17 July 2026 Torres lamented that the nation’s landmark semiquincentennial comes amid a fever pitch of anti-immigrant sentiment in the United States, marked by a rise in xenophobia and an onslaught of attempts to restrict newcomers here and abroad. — Angie Leventis Lourgos, Chicago Tribune, 28 June 2026 Removing all possibility that the president’s xenophobia is nonracial, the administration has implemented what is effectively a whites-only refugee policy that accepts solely South Africans of European descent. — Adam Serwer, The Atlantic, 27 June 2026 But all of them are now under threat — not just in Johannesburg but across the country, from Durban to Cape Town — as South Africa is engulfed by a rising tide of xenophobia. — Kate Bartlett, NPR, 25 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for xenophobia
Recent Examples of Synonyms for xenophobia
Noun
  • The United States had plenty of experience with nativism before 9/11.
    — Daniel Benjamin, Foreign Affairs, 11 Sep. 2026
  • Latinos have been not only frequent targets of nativism and xenophobic violence but also supporters — regularly enforcers — of it.
    — Eladio Bobadilla, Mercury News, 6 Aug. 2026
Noun
  • The young Forster recoiled from the school’s culture of authoritarianism and militaristic chauvinism, which may have found expression in the students’ often appalling attitudes toward their own mothers.
    — Jessica Winter, New Yorker, 7 May 2026
  • Her stories are well-told, relevant and often searing, detailing an elementary-school teacher’s slight, a hometown swimming-pool reckoning and chauvinism from an Ivy League club.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 30 Jan. 2026
Noun
  • Starting with an onscreen Biblical quote, the screenplay often feels on the brink of conservative jingoism that never quite becomes explicit.
    — Dennis Harvey, Variety, 10 Sep. 2026
  • But aside from that scene, and some odd red, white and blue sparkler-like fireworks visible in the New York Harbor, which curiously distract from a view of the Statue of Liberty, Soarin’ Across America doesn’t lay on the jingoism.
    — Todd Martens, Los Angeles Times, 7 July 2026

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“Xenophobia.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/xenophobia. Accessed 30 Sep. 2026.

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