racism

Noun

racism (usually uncountable, plural racisms)

1. (usually) The belief that there are distinct human races with inherent differences which determine their abilities, and generally that some are superior and others inferior.
   • It is altogether inaccurate to suggest that Europe is being indoctrinated with Fascism or Racism.1932 October 21, Sisley Huddleston, “Europe Painted in Fascist Colors”, in Christian Science Monitor, →ISSN, page 8
   • He lost his racism when he worked with a black man in Chicago. He lost his homophobia when he was befriended and looked after by his gay neighbors, a doctor and a nurse, in Little Rock.2005, Bill Clinton, My Life, volume II, New York: Vintage Books, →ISBN, →OCLC, pages 45–46
2. (usually) The policies, practices, or systems (e.g. government or political) promoting this belief or promoting the dominance of one or more races over others.
   • Martin Luther King spoke out against racism.
   • In part, the answer is that racism extends considerably beyond prejudiced beliefs. The essential feature of racism is not hostility or misperception, but rather the defense of a system from which advantage is derived on the basis of race. The manner in which the defense is articulated – either with...1993 September 24, David T. Wellman, Portraits of White Racism, 2nd edition, Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, →OL, page 210
3. (usually) Prejudice or discrimination based upon race or ethnicity; (countable) an action of such discrimination.
   • For, if racism against non-whites is morally wrong and unjustifiable, then how can racism against whites be morally right and justifiable?2007, Joseph Godson Amamoo, Ghana: 50 years of independence
   • This was partly true, but the biggest thing stopping him was that he had tried going to a college in Adelaide before and grew tired of the little racisms and discrimination that he got there.2016, Bernard Guerin, How to Rethink Human Behavior, →ISBN
4. (colloquial, countable, usually) An act that could be seen as racist, typically relatively harmless and/or unintentional.
   • I might have just done a racism.
5. (broadly, colloquial, usually) Hatred or prejudice against a race (species) of beings, such as an alien race or the human race.