elitistn.adj.
/ᵻˈliːtɪst/, /eɪˈliːtɪst/, U.S. /əˈlidəst/, /eɪˈlidəst/, /iˈlidəst/ A. n.
An advocate of elitism; one who supports the dominance of an elite (in society).
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > rule or government > politics > political philosophy > specific policies or advocacy of > [noun] > other specific policies or advocacy of > supporter of
common holder1565
abolitionist1827
governmentalist1831
destructive1832
annexationist1841
destructionist1841
annexionist1844
decompositionist1849
expansionist1862
disintegrator1865
dissolutionist1882
irredentist1882
disintegrationist1884
isolationist1899
retentionist1899
free fooder1903
laissez-fairist1932
autarkist1938
elitist1938
neo-isolationist1950
non-aligner1963
1938 Amer. Jrnl. Sociol. 43 862 Nor do the traits and skills by means of which wealth is obtained play a large part in the description of the natural élitist.
1961 New Left Rev. Jan. 59/2 Thompson doesn't know what to do with..us..condemn us as quotation mongers? class us with elitists?
1979 Signs 4 734 Although Barney was an elitist, a classist who eventually became utterly reactionary, she was very serious about politics.
2007 Guardian 5 Sept. (G2 section) 7/1 But most people are neither populist-absolutists nor snooty elitists: they are in the middle.
B. adj.
1. Characterized by elitism; relating to or supporting the view that society or a system should be led by an elite.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > rule or government > politics > political philosophy > specific policies or advocacy of > [adjective] > relating to or supporting other specific policies
laissez-faire1825
restorationist1828
abolitionist1833
irredential1891
pronatalist1938
elitist1943
neo-isolationist1952
non-aligned1954
1943 Amer. Polit. Sci. Rev. 37 726 He accepts the élitist interpretation of politics.
1950 D. Riesman in Psychiatry 13 303/1 He [sc. Freud] shared with..Nietzsche and Carlyle elements of an elitist position.
1960 New Left Rev. Nov. 30/1 The élitist manipulation..of the Communist Party.
2014 Philadelphia Inquirer (Nexis) 6 June w11 In the debased, overheated, hyperbolic, and anti-intellectual world of TV talk shows, they'd [sc. Gore Vidal and William F. Buckley] be branded elitist snobs.
2. Displaying or characterized by the belief that one belongs to an elite and is superior to others; snobbish, condescending, supercilious.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > pride > pretension to superiority > [adjective] > characterized by or characteristic of
start-up1557
upstarta1593
hogan1733
uppisha1734
elitist1966
the mind > emotion > pride > pretension to superiority > [adjective] > snobbish
airish1842
snobbish1850
head-in-air1888
high hat1924
toffee-nosed1925
snob1958
elitist1966
1966 Cornell Daily Sun (Ithaca, N. Y.) 30 Nov. SFE [= Students for Education] developed an elitist attitude... Many of the people in the movement developed the idea that they were somehow superior to the people who were outside of the SFE.
1973 Social Forces 52 298/1 She is put off by their smug, elitist posture and their assumption that they were born to lead.
1990 Amateur Photographer 22 Sept. 66/1 I hope that it does not sound too conceited or elitist to describe a ‘snap’ as a picture into which little thought has gone.
2015 Australian (Nexis) 24 Nov. 13 Both groups are elitist, believing that their views are superior to others in society.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2018; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.adj.1938