assimilationism

[ uh-sim-uh-ley-shuh-niz-uhm ]

noun

1. the practice or policy of assimilating or encouraging the assimilation of people from all ethnic groups and cultures of origin:

   In the 1900s, some immigrants at first resisted the assimilationism of the New World.

Other Words From

• as·simi·lation·ist noun adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of assimilationism¹

First recorded in 1950–55; assimilation + -ism

Example Sentences

An engagement with history and the travails of inheritance hovered over this year’s selection with a ghostlike presence, which is no surprise considering the heated state of the country’s various reckonings — with ingrained cultural values about sex and gender that many denounce as patriarchal, for instance, or the clash between the nation’s ideals about assimilationism and its increasingly diverse ethnic makeup.

From New York Times

Harold demonstrates a strain of WASP-y assimilationism that even his younger relatives can't quite get behind, including insisting that everyone embark on a formal fox hunt and then critiquing Marcus for not having the proper number of buttons on his jacket.

From Salon

Today, assimilationism is at the centre of the concept of nation.

From The Guardian

But not all queers were so fervent; many felt marriage amounted to heteronormative assimilationism.

From Slate

If you reject “assimilationism,” then you can’t suggest, as Obama did, that centuries of racism have eroded the black nuclear family.

From The New Yorker