inequalityin‧e‧qual‧i‧ty /ˌɪnɪˈkwɒləti $ -ˈkwɑː-/ ●●○ noun (plural inequalities) [countable, uncountable] 
Examples
There are inequalities in wealth distribution.inequality of inequality of opportunityinequality between inequalities between men and womensocial/gender/racial etc inequality a policy that aims to redress racial inequalitiesCOLLOCATIONSadjectivesgreat inequality· Great inequality exists between the rich and the poor.social inequality· Education can play a large part in reducing social inequality.racial inequality· The party has promised to fight racial inequality.economic inequality· There has been an increase in economic inequality between nations.gender inequality· Gender inequality starts at home and in school.class inequality (=inequality between social classes)· Class inequality is firmly embedded in our society.growing/increasing inequality· Income trends are shifting form increasing equality to increasing inequality.verbscreate/cause/result in inequality· Certain economic systems inevitably result in inequality.increase inequality· Some of the government's policies have actually increased inequalities between men and women.reduce inequality· Taxes can be used to reduce inequality.
ExamplesEXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
Thesaurus- Most of the complaints centered on the inequality of the justice system.
- signs of economic inequality
- Social inequality is likely to increase in the 21st century.
- Social inequality tended to increase rather than lessen in the 1980s.
- The report looks at inequality in education.
- The statistics show the growing inequality of income in America.
- The study shows that large inequalities still exist between men and women.
- There are still a lot of inequalities in society.
- An equal opportunity policy, reducing a, would, for given earnings inequality, reduce the inequality of consumption.
- And inequality of income is one reason inflation is nonexistent.
- In spite of these considerations, Weber certainly did regard capitalism as a class society - economic relations form the basis of inequality.
- It can therefore be argued that biological differences become biological inequalities only to the extent that they are defined as such.
- Some economists attribute much of the rising wage inequality in this country to the shift in favor of the most skilled workers.
- The inequality in life chances has therefore intentionally been reinforced in old age.
- Their conclusions, however, were broadly similar: great inequality and great poverty were inevitable in the absence of great reform.
- While the policies in a socialist state attempt to reduce inequalities significantly, they do not aim for total economic equality.
Longman Language Activatornot having equal rights► inequality
Collocations when people do not have the same rights or opportunities in their education, their jobs etc, because of their sex, race, or social class: · The report looks at inequality in education.· There are still a lot of inequalities in society.social/sexual/racial inequality: · Social inequality tended to increase rather than lessen in the 1980s.
► discrimination when people are treated unfairly because of their race, sex, age etc: · Federal law forbids discrimination on the basis of race, sex, or color. · Immigrants faced harassment and discrimination, and were paid considerably less than their white colleagues.discrimination against: · Laws have got to be tougher to stop discrimination against the disabled.· In 1974 IBM became the first American company to bar discrimination against gay workers. discrimination in: · They managed to reform American law, and ban racial and religious discrimination in housing, schools, and the workplace.racial/sex/age discrimination: · The most common victims of age discrimination are employees in their mid-50s.· The company was found guilty of racial discrimination, and was ordered to renew Ms. Jayalalitha's employment contract. anti-discrimination law/legislation/policy (=a law etc that forbids discrimination): · An insurance company is being investigated under federal anti-discrimination laws for refusing home insurance to a black Ohio couple.
► unequal unequal treatment, relationships, conditions etc are unfair to some of the people involved because they do not have equal rights or advantages: · The unequal distribution of wealth is a feature of our system of government.· When people are forced to compete on unequal terms they become resentful.· It was an unequal relationship. He was rich, powerful and experienced -- I was very young and naive.
unfair treatment because of someone's race, sex, age etc► discrimination: discrimination against · The Department was notorious for its blatant discrimination against non-U.S. citizen employees.· The policy forbids any form of discrimination against gay and lesbian students.racial discrimination (=discrimination because of someone's race) · a plan to tackle racial discrimination in the police forcesexual/sex/gender discrimination (=discrimination because of someone's sex) · a sex discrimination caseage discrimination (=discrimination because of someone's age, especially if they are quite old) · He believed his boss had violated the age discrimination law.reverse discrimination (=the practice of treating unfairly a group of people who usually have advantages, in order to be fair to people who do not have those advantages) · White-male fears of reverse discrimination have been widely exaggerated.
► discriminate against to treat someone unfairly because of their race, sex, age etc - use this especially about companies, the police, judges etc: · Shaun says he has definitely been discriminated against because he's black.· Why do so many companies think it's OK to discriminate against older people?
► prejudice when people do not like or trust someone who is different, for example because they belong to a different race, country, religion etc: · For years he has fought against prejudice and racial hatred.prejudice against: · a rising prejudice against gaysracial prejudice (=prejudice because of someone's race): · The number of hate crimes spurred by racial prejudice is increasing in our state.
► inequality when people do not have the same rights or opportunities in their education, their jobs etc, because of their sex, race, or social class: inequality in: · The report looks at inequality in education.inequality between: · The study shows that large inequalities still exist between men and women.inequality of/in: · Most of the complaints centered on the inequality of the justice system.social/sexual/racial etc inequality: · Social inequality is likely to increase in the 21st century.· signs of economic inequality
► discriminatory discriminatory laws, systems etc treat one particular group in society, such as women or black people, unfairly: · Congress is to launch an inquiry into discriminatory acts by immigration officials.· The government enacted laws to protect women from discriminatory employment practices.· Was there evidence of discriminatory treatment?
► double standards an attitude or belief, usually about the way you should behave, that is unfairly thought to be correct for one group in society but not for another: · Their action is designed to call attention to the double standards operating in the Mexican judicial system.· What disturbs me most is the racial double standard that exists in foreign policy: Predominantly white countries are given aid and attention while predominantly non-white countries are ignored.
WORD SETS► Sociologyabdicate, verbaffirmative action, nounage discrimination, nounageism, nounalienation, nounalmshouse, nounbackground, nounbeatnik, nounbeggar, nounbetterment, nounbirthrate, nounbohemian, adjectivebondage, nouncarer, nouncaretaker, nouncase work, nouncaste, nouncity planning, nouncommoner, nounconditioning, nounconsumer society, nounculture, noundisease, noundosser, noundoss house, noundown-and-out, noundownwardly mobile, adjectiveeuthanasia, nounformative, adjectivegenteel, adjectivegentlefolk, noungentleman, noungentlewoman, noungentry, noungeriatric, adjectivegerontology, noungrey, adjectivehermit, nounhierarchy, nounhippie, nounHonourable, adjectiveindependence, nounindustrialism, nouninequality, nouninfrastructure, nouninner city, nouninstitution, nouninstitutionalize, verbintegrate, verbliteracy, nounlower class, nounlow life, nounmatrix, nounmeritocracy, nounmobile, adjectivemores, nounmortality, nounNew Age traveller, nounorder, nounoutreach, nounpatriarchy, nounpecking order, nounpeer pressure, nounpetty bourgeois, adjectiveplebeian, nounpolitics, nounprogress, nounrank, nounreaction, nounrear, verbreceive, verbredneck, nounrevolution, nounsecularism, nounservice, nounsexual, adjectivesister, nounslave, nounslavery, nounsnowbird, nounsocial, adjectivesocial, nounsocialization, nounsocial science, nounsocial studies, nounsocial work, nounsocial worker, nounsociety, nounsocio-, prefixsocioeconomic, adjectivesoup kitchen, nounstratified, adjectivestratum, nounstreet people, nounsubgroup, nounsuburbanite, nounsuburbia, nounsupport group, nountownie, nountown meeting, nountown planning, nountownspeople, nountramp, noununattached, adjectiveuncle, noununconventional, adjectiveunderclass, nounupwardly mobile, adjectivewhite-collar, adjectiveworking class, noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRYadjectives► great inequality
Word family· Great inequality exists between the rich and the poor.
► social inequality· Education can play a large part in reducing social inequality.
► racial inequality· The party has promised to fight racial inequality.
► economic inequality· There has been an increase in economic inequality between nations.
► gender inequality· Gender inequality starts at home and in school.
► class inequality (=inequality between social classes)· Class inequality is firmly embedded in our society.
► growing/increasing inequality· Income trends are shifting form increasing equality to increasing inequality.
verbs► create/cause/result in inequality· Certain economic systems inevitably result in inequality.
► increase inequality· Some of the government's policies have actually increased inequalities between men and women.
► reduce inequality· Taxes can be used to reduce inequality.
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES► gender bias/inequality/discrimination (=when one gender is treated unfairly)· Her research investigates gender bias in the classroom.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADJECTIVE► economic· Markets intensify economic inequality and add to the numbers of the poor. 3.· Democracy cares about capitalistic economic inequality and is working to reduce it.· A comprehensive review of quantitative cross-national studies on economic inequality and political violence.· Such poverty compounds the economic and domestic inequalities typically experienced by women over a lifetime and magnifies such inequalities in old age.· A further cause for unease is that adherence to a free market philosophy combined with reduced taxation has increased economic inequality.· Unequal educational gains have further increased social and economic inequalities between regions and classes and have contributed to ethnic and political tensions.· Hence the Chicago human capital school comes closest to diffusing economic inequality as an issue.· An increase in economic inequality between rich and poor countries.
► great· When the dimension of gender is added, we can see even greater disadvantage and inequality for females.· Their conclusions, however, were broadly similar: great inequality and great poverty were inevitable in the absence of great reform.· More thoughtful Conservatives are aware that a movement towards greater inequality can not continue indefinitely in a democratic society.· Democracy holds out beliefs and references groups that are not compatible with great inequalities.· This rethinking is even more necessary for the assumption that the growth of exchange implies greater inequality.· The greatest inequality between the two countries is for mature students.· There cold be very great inequalities between individuals when measured over a whole life.
► racial· Questions of peace and war, global distributive justice, gender and racial inequality, and environmental degradation concern us all.
► social· Generally, social inequalities are presumed to be justified, often in terms of tradition.· The chapter began by posing the possibility of an egalitarian society, a society without social inequality.· Welfare services are given a promotional role taking into account social inequalities and the need for universal provisions.· They argue that Marx's class analysis is too simplistic to account adequately for the complexity of social inequality.· Such beliefs serve to explain the system to its members: they make social inequality appear rational and reasonable.· Economic and social inequalities are viewed as positive and constructive forces.· They offer no other means of solving this problem and imply that social inequality is an inevitable feature of human society.
NOUN► class· But its impact on class inequality ... is to sharpen class division.· In the absence of class inequalities, the state serves all groups and there is no cause for further conflict among groups.· Social class inequalities, however, remain as strong as ever despite the enormous growth in education provision and expenditure.· Will current class inequalities in health continue to be important?· The bus journey alone is eloquent of class inequality.· Is class inequality in any ways reduced?· Social class inequalities in housing will therefore be greater than they are in health or education.· More limited forms of resistance such as normal trade union activity do not alter the fundamental relationships of class inequality in capitalist society.
► gender· Yet finding out what happens in higher education is of utmost importance in understanding the patterns of gender inequality that exist.· Whatever changes may be occurring in their work as marketers, this gender inequality persists.· According to Angie Romorola, gender inequalities are very well entrenched.· He was untiring in his efforts to overcome racial divisions and gender inequalities.· She demonstrates that policies of amelioration will do in more than touch the surface unless fundamental gender inequalities are addressed.· The significance of the class and gender inequalities which are intertwined with the racism that black students encounter is thus underplayed.· However, it is generally recognized that gender inequality in education is in many respects different from inequality of class.
► health· Unfortunately, these improvements have not been shared equally and health inequalities within and among countries are entrenched.· Discussion Our evidence suggests that a new approach to social stratification is required to assess health inequalities in childhood.· Second, the health improvements have not been shared equally and health inequalities among and within countries remain entrenched.· And it will have a target to narrow health inequalities between social groups and areas.· Such data, therefore, represent clear evidence of health inequalities among children aged 1-15.· These new challenges will potentially worsen regional and national health inequalities.· Contemporary public health must therefore encompass the interrelated tasks of reducing social and health inequalities and achieving health-sustaining environments.
► income· In other words, general levels of income inequality have a positive effect on the incidence of political violence.· Over time in unfettered markets income inequalities grow.· The bias in the contributions is towards quite strong views of equity if not egalitarianism, but different income inequality ideologies exist.· We shall pursue the debate over income inequality in Chapter 37.· Thirdly, there has been a widening of income inequalities among households with children.· Government has assumed the responsibility for ameliorating income inequality in our society.· However, when considering income inequality, it is the income distribution among individuals that has emerged as most useful.· Their comparative analysis tests the linear and non-linear forms of the relationship between income inequality and political violence.
VERB► grow· Between the late 1960s and early 1980s the population of Porto Alegre grew rapidly while inequalities widened.· Macro-economic statistics can conceal growing inequalities within countries.
► increase· Critics of popular capitalism argue that it is a programme for increasing inequality and poverty.· A further cause for unease is that adherence to a free market philosophy combined with reduced taxation has increased economic inequality.· Unequal educational gains have further increased social and economic inequalities between regions and classes and have contributed to ethnic and political tensions.· Private sector led regeneration has profoundly increased the inequality of access to both private and public goods in the area.· The Gini coefficients in Table 9-2 suggest increasing inequality between 1975/6 and 1981/2 and constant inequality between 1981/2 and 1984/5.· Some said it has increased the inequalities of income within countries, as well as between poor and rich ones.
► reduce· An equal opportunity policy, reducing a, would, for given earnings inequality, reduce the inequality of consumption.· Using political power to reduce market inequalities requires a high-wire balancing act.· The task, then, of any government attempting to reduce inequalities in the geographical distribution of services is very difficult.· While the policies in a socialist state attempt to reduce inequalities significantly, they do not aim for total economic equality.· His prescriptions sound modest: Cushion people against economic shocks, widen the circle of prosperity, reduce inequality.· Hence the welfare state contained but did not reduce social inequality.· Where modern values have been incorporated they have often not reduced inequality.· The last forty years have shown that simply increasing the volume of services does not necessarily reduce social or geographical inequalities.
► widen· To back this up they claim that a reliance on market forces has widened pay inequalities and also significantly increased unemployment.· The government has to address widening inequality.
WORD FAMILYnounequality ≠ inequalityequalequalizerverbequalizeequaladjectiveequal ≠ unequaladverbequally ≠ unequally
an unfair situation, in which some groups in society have more money, opportunities, power etc than others OPP equalityinequality in There are inequalities in wealth distribution.inequality of inequality of opportunityinequality between inequalities between men and womensocial/gender/racial etc inequality a policy that aims to redress racial inequalitiesCOLLOCATIONSadjectivesgreat inequality· Great inequality exists between the rich and the poor.social inequality· Education can play a large part in reducing social inequality.racial inequality· The party has promised to fight racial inequality.economic inequality· There has been an increase in economic inequality between nations.gender inequality· Gender inequality starts at home and in school.class inequality (=inequality between social classes)· Class inequality is firmly embedded in our society.growing/increasing inequality· Income trends are shifting form increasing equality to increasing inequality.verbscreate/cause/result in inequality· Certain economic systems inevitably result in inequality.increase inequality· Some of the government's policies have actually increased inequalities between men and women.reduce inequality· Taxes can be used to reduce inequality.