Elitism

//ɪˈliːtɪzəm// noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    The belief that a society or system should be run by an elite. countable, uncountable
  2. 2
    the attitude that society should be governed by an elite group of individuals wordnet
  3. 3
    The superior attitude or behaviour associated with an elite. countable, uncountable

    "Dati launched a blistering attack on the prime minister, François Fillon, under whom she served as justice minister, accusing him of sexism, elitism, arrogance and hindering the political advancement of ethnic minorities."

Synonyms

All synonyms
inegalitarianisminegalitarianismlordliness

Example

More examples

"The words "elitist" and "elitism" are often used by anti-intellectuals."

Etymology

From elite + -ism. First attested in the 1930s.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.