Standard Lemma guide

racism

noun · 5 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

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • US: /ˈɹeɪsɪzm̩/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: R EY1 S IH2 Z AH0 M Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

The belief that there are distinct human races with inherent differences which determine their abilities, and generally that some are superior and others inferior.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable, usually

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

The policies, practices, or systems (e.g. government or political) promoting this belief or promoting the dominance of one or more races over others.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable, usually

Examples

  • Martin Luther King spoke out against racism.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

Prejudice or discrimination based upon race or ethnicity; (countable) an action of such discrimination.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable, usually

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

discriminatory or abusive behavior towards members of another race

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: racialism, racial discrimination

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: discrimination, favoritism, favouritism

Narrower terms: racial profiling

5

noun

Meaning 5

the prejudice that members of one race are intrinsically superior to members of other races

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: bias, prejudice, preconception

Narrower terms: anti-Semitism, antisemitism, white supremacy

History

Etymology

Borrowed from French racisme, equivalent to race + -ism.

Across languages

Translations

128 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Afrikaans: rassisme — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Albanian: racizëm — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Amharic: ዘረኝነት (zäräñnät) — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Antillean Creole: wasis — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Antillean Creole: rasis — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Arabic: عِرْقِيَّة (ʕirqiyya) — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Arabic: عُنْصُرِيَّة (ʕunṣuriyya) — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Armenian: ռասիզմ (ṙasizm) — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Armenian: ռասայականություն (ṙasayakanutʻyun) — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Asturian: racismu — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Azerbaijani: irqçilik — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Azerbaijani: rasizm — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Belarusian: расі́зм (rasízm) — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Bengali: বর্ণবাদ (bornobad) — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Breton: gouennelouriezh — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Bulgarian: раси́зъм (rasízǎm) — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Burmese: လူမျိုးရေးဝါဒ (lu-myui:re:wada.) — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Buryat: расизм (rasizm) — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Catalan: racisme — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Chinese Mandarin: 種族主義 /种族主义 (zhǒngzúzhǔyì) — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Chinese Mandarin: 種族歧視 /种族歧视 (zhǒngzúqíshì) — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Ngazidja Comorian: uɓanguzi wa range (ubanguzi wa range) — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Ngazidja Comorian: uɓanguzi (ubanguzi) — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Cornish: hilgasieth — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Corsican: razzismu — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Czech: rasismus — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Czech: rasizmus — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Danish: racisme — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Dutch: racisme — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Esperanto: rasismo — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Estonian: rassism — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Finnish: rasismi — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Finnish: rotusorto — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • French: racisme — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • West-Frisian: rasisme — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Ga: hewolonɔ su mligbalamɔ — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Galician: racismo — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Georgian: რასიზმი (rasizmi) — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • German: Rassismus — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Greek: φυλετισμός (fyletismós) — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Greek: ρατσισμός (ratsismós) — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Guianese Creole: rasism — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Gujarati: જાતિવાદ (jātivād) — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Haitian Creole: rasis — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Hawaiian: paihaʻakei ʻili — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Hawaiian: hoʻokae ʻili — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Hebrew: גִּזְעָנוּת (gizanút) — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Hindi: जातिवाद (jātivād) — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Hindi: नस्लभेद (naslabhed) — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Hindi: रेसिज़म (resizam) — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Hungarian: rasszizmus — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Icelandic: kynþáttafordómar — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Icelandic: rasismi — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Icelandic: kynþáttahyggja — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Icelandic: kynþáttastefna — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Icelandic: kynþáttarembingur — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Icelandic: kynþáttahatur — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Icelandic: kynþáttahroki — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Ido: rasismo — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Indonesian: rasisme — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Irish: ciníochas — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Italian: razzismo — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Japanese: 人種差別 (jinshusabetsu) — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Japanese: レイシズム (reishizumu) — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Kannada: ವರ್ಣಭೇದ (varṇabhēda) — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Kazakh: нәсілшілдік (näsılşıldık) — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Kazakh: расизм (rasizm) — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Khmer: ពូជនិយម (puuc niyum) — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Korean: 인종차별 (injongchabyeol) — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Korean: 인종차별주의 (injongchabyeoljuui) — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Korean: 레이시즘 (reisijeum) — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Northern Kurdish: nîjadparêzî — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Kyrgyz: расизм (rasizm) — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Latvian: rasisms — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Lithuanian: rasizmas — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Macedonian: раси́зам (rasízam) — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Malay: rasisme — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Malayalam: വർണ്ണവിവേചനം (vaṟṇṇavivēcanaṁ) — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Māori: whakatakētanga — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Marathi: वंशविद्वेष (vauśvidveṣ) — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Norman: racisme — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Norwegian Bokmål: rasisme — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: rasisme — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Occitan: racisme — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Odia: ଜାତିଭେଦ (jātibheda) — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Pashto: نژاد پالنه (nežādpalǝna) — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Pashto: توکمپالنه (tukᶕmpalǝna) — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Persian: نژادپرستی (nežâd-parasti) — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Persian: راسیسم (râsism) — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Polish: rasizm — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Portuguese: racismo — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Punjabi: ਜਾਤੀਵਾਦ (jātīvād) — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Romanian: rasism — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Russian: раси́зм (rasízm) — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Sardinian: ratzismu — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Scots: racism — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Scottish Gaelic: gràin-cinnidh — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Serbo-Croatian: расѝзам — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Serbo-Croatian: rasìzam — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Sicilian: razzismu — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Silesian: rasizm — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Sinhalese: ජාතිවාදය (jātiwādaya) — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Slovak: rasizmus — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Slovene: rasizem — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Spanish: racismo — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Swahili: ubaguzi wa rangi — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Swedish: rasism — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Tagalog: rasismo — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Tajik: нажодпарастӣ (nažodparasti) — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Tajik: расизм (rasizm) — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Tamil: இனவாதம் (iṉavātam) — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Tamil: இனவெறி (iṉaveṟi) — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Tatar: расизм (rasizm) — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Telugu: జాత్యహంకారము (jātyahaṅkāramu) — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Thai: คตินิยมเชื้อชาติ (ká-dtì-ní-yom-chʉ́ʉa-châat) — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Tok Pisin: birua long man bilong narapela skin — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Turkish: ırkçılık — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Turkmen: jynsparazlyk — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Turkmen: rasizm — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Ukrainian: раси́зм (rasýzm) — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Urdu: نَسل پَرَستی (nasl parastī) — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Uyghur: ئىرقىي كەمسىتىش (irqiy kemsitish) — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Uyghur: ئىرقچىلىق (irqchiliq) — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Uzbek: irqchilik — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Uzbek: rasizm — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Vietnamese: chủ nghĩa phân biệt chủng tộc — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Welsh: hiliaeth — racial prejudice or discrimination
  • Yiddish: ראַסיזם (rasizm) — racial prejudice or discrimination
Real reading context

racism in complete knowledge articles