Wantokism

//ˈwɑntɒkɪzəm// noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    The Melanesian cultural practice of relying on one's wantoks for any need, and of sharing the fruits of one's personal success with one's wantoks. uncountable

    "The capture of a provincial bureaucracy by an ethnic elite and the practice of wantokism have had at least other grave repercussions for national unity and nation-building."

Example

More examples

"The capture of a provincial bureaucracy by an ethnic elite and the practice of wantokism have had at least other grave repercussions for national unity and nation-building."

Etymology

From wantok + -ism.

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