racism

racism — noun

1. a system of practices, rules, or social structures within a society that give so

1.nounB2
Definition

a system of practices, rules, or social structures within a society that give some racial groups lasting advantages while treating other groups unfairly or causing them harm

Example

Faisal wrote a detailed report about racism in the city's housing system.

uncountable noun: racism in + [institution/area]

The manager learned how racism affects hiring during the training session.

passive: how racism affects [process]

Common collocations
  • institutional racism
  • systemic racism
  • structural racism
  • fight racism
  • address racism
  • tackle racism
  • racism in education
  • racism in healthcare
  • racism in housing
  • a form of racism
  • a history of racism
Synonyms
Antonyms
  • racial equality

    a state where race does not determine access to opportunities or fair treatment

  • racial justice

    active efforts to dismantle racist systems and create fairness

Usage Note

Frequently modified by adjectives such as 'institutional', 'systemic', or 'structural' to describe racism embedded in organisations or broader society rather than individual actions.

Common Mistakes

The company has racism.
The company has a problem with institutional racism.
'Racism' describes a system or set of practices, not something an organisation 'has' like a policy. Use 'institutional racism' or 'racist practices' for specific organisational contexts.

2. the idea that humanity can be sorted into separate racial groups and that certai

2.nounB2
Definition

the idea that humanity can be sorted into separate racial groups and that certain groups are innately better than others, together with the harmful speech, mindsets, and behaviours that stem from this idea

Example

Selim felt hurt by the racism expressed openly at a family dinner.

verb pattern: feel / face / experience racism

In history class, Ms. Apinya showed the students how racism spread through false claims about intelligence.

Common collocations
  • experience racism
  • face racism
  • be a victim of racism
  • suffer racism
  • racist comments
  • racist attitudes
  • racist beliefs
  • an act of racism
  • a form of racism
Synonyms
  • racial prejudice

    emphasises prejudging based on race, often at the individual level

  • racial bias

    broader term that can include unconscious or unintentional preferences

  • racial stereotyping

    the act of applying generalised — often false — traits to an entire racial group

Antonyms
  • racial equality

    the principle that all races deserve the same rights and respect

  • racial harmony

    a state of peaceful and respectful coexistence among racial groups

Usage Note

This sense covers both openly expressed beliefs and unconscious prejudice. Distinguish from sense 1 (SYSTEMIC INJUSTICE), which focuses on societal structures and institutional practices rather than personal beliefs.

Common Mistakes

He is racism.
He holds racist beliefs.
Use the adjective 'racist' to describe a person's beliefs or behaviour, not the noun 'racism'.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Racial discrimination refers to specific actions or rules that treat people unfairly because of their race, while racism (sense 1) is a broader concept that includes the systems and structures enabling such actions. Racial prejudice focuses on individual attitudes and feelings rather than society-wide patterns. Racial injustice highlights the unfair outcomes — in areas like law, education, or employment — while racism is the underlying system that produces those outcomes. Xenophobia is distinct because it targets people seen as 'foreign' rather than targeting by race specifically. For example, a company that refuses to hire qualified candidates from a certain ethnic group is committing an act of racial discrimination; the broader pattern of unequal access in that industry reflects systemic racism. Racial prejudice describes the biased beliefs of individual hiring managers, whereas xenophobia would apply if the rejection were based on candidates' national origin or immigrant status.

racial discriminationracial prejudiceracial injusticexenophobia

Common collocations

Nouns

  • form of racism
  • issue of racism
  • problem of racism
  • history of racism
  • experience of racism
  • act of racism
  • pattern of racism

Phrases

  • a long history of racism
  • an experience of racism
  • a growing awareness of racism

Prepositions

  • racism against
  • racism in
  • racism within
  • racism towards

Etymology

ItalianFrenchGermanEnglish

Racism entered English in the early 1930s as a translation of the German word Rassismus, which was borrowed from the French racisme, first used around 1900 in European political writing. The base word 'race' traces back through French and Spanish to the Italian razza, meaning 'kind, breed, or lineage', of uncertain origin. Early uses of the term described then-current theories that divided humans into distinct biological groups with different innate capacities — ideas that modern science has thoroughly discredited, though the social structures built on them continue to cause harm.