Standard Lemma guide

credentialism

noun · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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  • US: /kɹəˈdɛn.ʃə.lɪ.zəm/

1

noun

Meaning 1

Excessive emphasis on the importance of educational, academic, legal, or regulatory qualifications.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Etymology tree English credential Proto-Indo-European *-id- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-idyéti Proto-Hellenic *-íďďō Ancient Greek -ῐ́ζω (-ĭ́zō) Proto-Indo-European *-mos Proto-Indo-European *-mós Ancient Greek -μός (-mós) Ancient Greek -ισμός (-ismós)der. English -ism English credentialism From credential + -ism.

Across languages

Translations

9 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 升學主義 /升学主义 (shēngxuézhǔyì) — emphasis on the importance of qualifications
  • Chinese Mandarin: 資格主義 /资格主义 (zīgézhǔyì) — emphasis on the importance of qualifications
  • Chinese Mandarin: 文憑主義 /文凭主义 (wénpíngzhǔyì) — emphasis on the importance of qualifications
  • Finnish: kredentialismi — emphasis on the importance of qualifications
  • French: inflation des diplômes — emphasis on the importance of qualifications
  • French: inflation scolaire — emphasis on the importance of qualifications
  • French: crédentialisme — emphasis on the importance of qualifications
  • Spanish: credencialismo — emphasis on the importance of qualifications
  • Spanish: titulitis — emphasis on the importance of qualifications