racialism

noun

ra·​cial·​ism ˈrā-shə-ˌli-zəm 

: a belief that race (see race entry 1 sense 1a) determines human traits and capacities

also : racism

racialist

ˈrā-shə-list 

noun or adjective

racialistic

ˌrā-shə-ˈli-stik 

adjective

Synonyms

• racism

Examples of racialism in a Sentence

the racialism of some of the nation's founders seems to contradict their professed belief that “all men are created equal”

an ugly incident of racialism that campus police are investigating

Recent Examples on the Web

Internally, the adoption of multi-racialism as a policy was designed to diminish—even if, initially, imperceptibly—the social and economic influence of white South Africans, and to displace them, at least partly, by the local petite bourgeoisie. —The Editors, JSTOR Daily, 15 Aug. 2025

In our day, he is reviled for his imperialism, racialism, and even his humorously excessive appreciation for a fine cigar. —Peter J. Travers, National Review, 7 Dec. 2021

Today, certain people talk about racialism, indigenism, and decolonial theories, but beneath these terms hateful and fanatical agitators want a race war. —Harrison Stetler, The New Republic, 24 May 2021

King never seriously entertained the utopian ideas of Black emigration or the romantic racialism of Muhammad’s Black nationalism. —Brandon M. Terry, The New York Review of Books, 11 Mar. 2021

Post-racialism is the promise of working to move beyond the perils of the Black condition in America, an achievement of Black acceleration and exceptionalism; when transcending race was aspirational and thought of to be wholly possible. —Taylor Renee Aldridge, Harper's BAZAAR, 23 Feb. 2021

Hawley describes Roosevelt as driven by a combination of warrior republicanism and crude racialism, which at times led him to adopt autocratic racial theories and dreams of imperial conquest. —Zaid Jilani, Washington Examiner, 31 Dec. 2020

This seed of scientific racialism waxed and reached its peaks in the years around 1900, before waning in the 20th century. —Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 24 Aug. 2011

Word History

Etymology

racial + -ism

First Known Use

1880, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for racialism

• autism
• fascism
• racism
• sikhism
• statism
• sufism
• thomism
• tourism
• tropism
• abolitionism
• aldosteronism
• americanism

Kids Definition

racialism

noun

ra·​cial·​ism ˈrā-shə-ˌliz-əm 

: a belief that race determines human traits and abilities

also : racism

racialist

-ləst 

noun or adjective

racialistic

rā-shə-ˈlis-tik 

adjective