Nepotism

//ˈnɛp.ə.tɪ.zəm// noun

noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    The favoring of relatives (most strictly) or also personal friends (more broadly) because of their relationship rather than because of their abilities. countable, uncountable

    "Nepotism can get you very far in the world if you've got the right connections."

  2. 2
    favoritism shown to relatives or close friends by those in power (as by giving them jobs) wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
biasboodlecampaign contributioncampaign fundcronyismdiscrimination

Example

More examples

"The politician was accused of nepotism when he employed his wife in his electoral office, without advertising the position."

Etymology

Borrowed from French népotisme, from Italian nepotismo, from Latin nepōs (“nephew”), a reference to the practice of popes appointing relatives (most often nephews) as cardinals during the Middle Ages and Renaissance.

Related phrases

nepotism babynepotism friend

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