racistn.adj.
/ˈreɪsɪst/, U.S. /ˈreɪsᵻst/ A. n.
A person who is prejudiced, antagonistic, or discriminatory towards a person or people on the basis of their membership of a particular racial or ethnic group, typically one that is a minority or marginalized; a person who subscribes to the belief that members of a particular racial or ethnic group possess innate characteristics or qualities, or that some racial or ethnic groups are superior to others. Also (esp. in early use): a person who is prejudiced, antagonistic, or discriminatory towards a person or people of another nationality. Cf. racialist n.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > social attitudes > racial attitudes > [noun] > racism > person
racialist1901
racist1919
1919 J. R. Barcos tr. in Inter-America Dec. 89/1 Our poor ‘American’ race is, as we all know, in the depths: hunger, anaemia, syphilis, alcohol, tuberculosis..devouring its best energies without this fact concerning or troubling, in the least, the consciences of any of our literary ‘racists’, including the great Rodó.
1924 Portland Oregonian 14 Dec. 70 The elections show the Germans at the moment want neither racists nor [printed now] communists—that is, neither extreme nationalists nor extreme revolutionists.
1978 S. Biko I write what I Like iii. 25 In other words one cannot be a racist unless he has the power to subjugate.
1992 Independent 14 Feb. 6/1 The minister responsible for Europe was labelled a racist yesterday after he allegedly referred to the French as ‘frogs’.
2020 Globe & Mail (Toronto) (Nexis) 16 May a10 I was bold enough to confront these racists.
B. adj.
Prejudiced, antagonistic, or discriminatory towards a person or people on the basis of their membership of a particular racial or ethnic group, typically one that is a minority or marginalized; expressing or characterized by racism. Also (esp. in early use): prejudiced, antagonistic, or discriminatory towards a person or people of another nationality. Cf. racialist adj.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > social attitudes > racial attitudes > [adjective] > racist
anti-black1835
ethnocentric1861
racialistic1904
racist1923
racialist1924
völkisch1939
racistic1950
ethnocentred2003
1923 tr. H. Lichtenberger Relations between France & Germany ii. 53 Henning was expelled from the party at the end of July by a vote of the parliamentary section. But they were careful to warn the public that the motive of this exclusion was not the deputy's adherence to the ‘racist’ movement but his own personal political activity.
1927 Amer. Polit. Sci. Rev. 21 383 That such arbitrary tactics were not applied solely to the Left Opposition is made clear by the complaint of the Racist deputy Eckhardt.
1979 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 28 Nov. 8/4 [Mr. Levesque] can't bear any suggestion that he or his party could be racist, could treat non-francophones as second-class citizens.
1999 Independent 25 Feb. i. 2/7 A delegation from the Commission for Racial Equality told Sir William that most public bodies are institutionally racist.
2019 J. Boakye Black, Listed 139 She is a target for such violent racist abuse.
Derivatives
raˈcistic adj.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > social attitudes > racial attitudes > [adjective] > racist
anti-black1835
ethnocentric1861
racialistic1904
racist1923
racialist1924
völkisch1939
racistic1950
ethnocentred2003
1950 E. W. Count This is Race 734 Combating racistic theories.
1963 Observer 7 Apr. 22/2 This society is dedicated to pleasure and not over-concerned with the big racistic abstractions.
1970 Harper's Mag. Apr. 6/2 Because the preponderant white community is largely racistic, it is necessary to transform our entire society.
1981 Westindian World 18 Sept. 2/2 They can be as racistic as they please.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2008; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.adj.1919