social construct

[ soh-shuhl kon-struhkt ]

noun

1. a complex concept or practice shared by a society or group, not arising from any natural or innate source but built on the assumptions upheld, usually tacitly, by its members:

   The Green Party supports the EU in viewing disability as a social construct and recognizes the well-established link between poverty and disability.

Word History and Origins

Origin of social construct¹

First recorded in 1900–05

Example Sentences

A social construct that we created to inventory passing days in a way that would best make sense to us when time, in and of itself, is more fluid.

From Salon

Nancy Berns, a professor at Drake University, has done a lot of great work on closure and how it’s a social construct.

From Los Angeles Times

"I believe that this court missed the opportunity to think honestly about race as a social construct, rather than a biological fact," Hutchinson told Salon, noting that certain cultural norms and attitudes develop from shared experiences and ancestry.

From Salon

Trump's privilege is a social construct, not a law of nature.

From Salon

Some critics worry that such medical prescriptions will only perpetuate the notion of race as biological instead of a social construct.

From Salon