Black America used to be, and perhaps still is, a pigmentocracy, which means that the social hierarchy is based largely on colorism.
Source: wiktionary
Colorism
Synonyms for "colorism"
Ranked by relevance and common usage.
Related word relations
OpenGloss and ConceptNet supply richer edges like generalizations, collocations, and derivations.
Translations
12 translations across 8 languages.
Catalan
1 entries- colorisme noun (a style of painting characterised by the use of intense color.)
French
2 entries- colorisme noun (prejudice or bias against persons on the basis of their skin color or complexion, often among persons of the same racial identification)
- colorisme noun (a style of painting characterised by the use of intense color.)
German
2 entries- Kolorismus noun (prejudice or bias against persons on the basis of their skin color or complexion, often among persons of the same racial identification)
- Kolorismus noun (a style of painting characterised by the use of intense color.)
Portuguese
1 entries- colorismo noun (prejudice or bias against persons on the basis of their skin color or complexion, often among persons of the same racial identification)
Russian
1 entries- колори́зм noun (prejudice or bias against persons on the basis of their skin color or complexion, often among persons of the same racial identification)
Spanish
3 entries- colorismo noun (prejudice or bias against persons on the basis of their skin color or complexion, often among persons of the same racial identification)
- colorismo noun (a style of painting characterised by the use of intense color.)
- pigmentocracia noun (prejudice or bias against persons on the basis of their skin color or complexion, often among persons of the same racial identification)
Swedish
1 entries- kolorism noun (a style of painting characterised by the use of intense color.)
Tamil
1 entries- நிறவெறி noun (prejudice or bias against persons on the basis of their skin color or complexion, often among persons of the same racial identification)
Sample sentences
7 total sentences available.
This type of preferential colorism isn’t only found in the church aisles, it’s at family gatherings, on the dating scene, in the classroom, on the playground—it’s everywhere.
Source: wiktionary
Colorism from your own people feels worse than racism – at the very least your own family and people should welcome you, no?
Source: wiktionary
Eliminating racism and colorism is, of course, a worthy pursuit, but it’s also impossible to do in the abstract.
Source: wiktionary
Showing 4 of 7 available sentences.
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.