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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Examples of racism in a Sentence

These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Recent Examples on the Web 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 

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Cite this Entry

“Racism.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/racism. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.

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