Standard Lemma guide

tribalism

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.

  • General-American, Received-Pronunciation: /ˈtɹaɪ.bə.lɪ.zəm/
  • Australian: /ˈtɹɑɪ.bə.lɪ.zəm/
  • CMU ARPABET: T R AY1 B AH0 L IH0 Z AH0 M Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
  • CMU ARPABET 2: T R AY1 B AH0 L IH0 Z AH0 M Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

The condition of being tribal.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A feeling of identity and loyalty to one's tribe.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

The tendency among human beings to form socially cohesive groups within which there exists social pressure upon the individual to conform to either common behaviors, customs, habits, mores and/or norms, and which groups exhibit greater or lesser degrees of exclusivism.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

the beliefs of a tribal society

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: belief

5

noun

Meaning 5

the state of living together in tribes

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: state

History

Etymology

Etymology tree English tribal 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 tribalism From tribal + -ism.

Across languages

Translations

20 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Danish: tribalisme — the condition of being tribal
  • Finnish: heimolaisuus — the condition of being tribal
  • Finnish: heimokuntaisuus — the condition of being tribal
  • Finnish: tribalismi — the condition of being tribal
  • French: tribalisme — the condition of being tribal
  • Georgian: ტომობრიობა (ṭomobrioba) — the condition of being tribal
  • Georgian: ტრაიბალიზმი (ṭraibalizmi) — the condition of being tribal
  • Georgian: ტრიბალიზმი (ṭribalizmi) — the condition of being tribal
  • German: Tribalismus — the condition of being tribal
  • Russian: трайбали́зм (trajbalízm) — the condition of being tribal
  • Russian: трибали́зм (tribalízm) — the condition of being tribal
  • Swahili: ukabila — the condition of being tribal
  • Danish: stammementalitet — a feeling of identity and loyalty to one's tribe
  • Finnish: heimokuntaisuus — a feeling of identity and loyalty to one's tribe
  • Finnish: tribalismi — a feeling of identity and loyalty to one's tribe
  • French: tribalisme — a feeling of identity and loyalty to one's tribe
  • German: Stammesdenken — a feeling of identity and loyalty to one's tribe
  • German: Stammesbewusstsein — a feeling of identity and loyalty to one's tribe
  • German: Stammesmentalität — a feeling of identity and loyalty to one's tribe
  • Swahili: ukabila — a feeling of identity and loyalty to one's tribe
Real reading context

tribalism in complete knowledge articles