1
as in segregation
the belief that certain races of people are by birth and nature superior to others
Hitler's declaration of his belief in a "master race" provided irrefutable proof to the world of the inherent and dangerous racism of the Nazi movement
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2
as in prejudice
hatred of or discrimination against a person or persons based on their race
the 1963 bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, was one of the most deplorable incidents of racism that occurred during the civil rights movement of the 1960s
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Recent Examples of racism
Emerging data shows that COVID-19 disproportionately affects minority communities, likely due to racism’s downstream effects on socioeconomic opportunities, health outcomes and insurance coverage.
—
Isobel Rosenthal, Scientific American, 17 June 2020
Villarosa, a veteran journalist who has covered Black health and wellness for decades, begins her forceful exposure of racism’s toxic effect on the U.S.’s health system by recounting her own personal awakening.
—Julia Schimautz, The Atlantic, 13 Dec. 2022
Barrow asked for a definition of critical race theory, which is the study of racism’s effect on societal structures and is usually taught at the graduate level but has become shorthand to describe progressive ideas about race and gender.
—Tyler Kingkade, NBC News, 17 Nov. 2022
But increasingly, research shows differences based on race don't reflect biology, but instead structural racism's effect on health.
—Nada Hassanein, USA TODAY, 12 Oct. 2022
See all Example Sentences for racism 
Isobel Rosenthal, Scientific American, 17 June 2020
Villarosa, a veteran journalist who has covered Black health and wellness for decades, begins her forceful exposure of racism’s toxic effect on the U.S.’s health system by recounting her own personal awakening.
—Julia Schimautz, The Atlantic, 13 Dec. 2022
Barrow asked for a definition of critical race theory, which is the study of racism’s effect on societal structures and is usually taught at the graduate level but has become shorthand to describe progressive ideas about race and gender.
—Tyler Kingkade, NBC News, 17 Nov. 2022
But increasingly, research shows differences based on race don't reflect biology, but instead structural racism's effect on health.
—Nada Hassanein, USA TODAY, 12 Oct. 2022
See all Example Sentences for racism
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Cite this Entry
“Racism.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/racism. Accessed 12 Dec. 2024.
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