elitist

[ ih-lee-tistey-lee‑ ]

adjective

1. (of a person or class of persons) considered superior by others or by themselves, as in intellect, talent, power, wealth, or position in society:

   elitist country clubbers who have theirs and don't care about anybody else.

2. catering to or associated with an elitist class, its ideologies, or its institutions:

   Even at such a small, private college, Latin and Greek are under attack as too elitist.

noun

1. a person having, thought to have, or professing superior intellect or talent, power, wealth, or membership in the upper echelons of society:

   He lost a congressional race in Texas by being smeared as an Eastern elitist.

2. a person who believes in the superiority of an elitist class.

Other Words From

• anti·e·litist noun adjective
• none·litist noun adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of elitist¹

elite + -ist

Example Sentences

Bates found an FBI agent who was less elitist and talked to him about trying to track the other ones — and, hopefully, the kidnappers themselves.

From Vox

In fact, the school has been criticized for allegedly being elitist and designed exclusively for the offspring of well-off digital nomads.

From Ozy

She’s not like this high-up, elitist person that they try to portray her to be.

From Washington Post

It is also a courageous book because it obliges Nemerov to indulge a discourse that some readers may find elitist.

From Washington Post

Throughout the Senate campaign, Democrats primarily tried to cast Perdue as an out-of-touch elitist who had failed over his term to stay connected to regular voters.

From Vox

Amassing a collection of his own, moreover, might eventually ease his entrance into elitist scientific circles.

From The Daily Beast

Her original statement caused an uproar from working mothers who argued Paltrow was out of touch and elitist.

From The Daily Beast

In the 18th century, white was an elitist color, for example.

From The Daily Beast

Dooley describes Broun as “very friendly, not at all elitist” and very, very conservative.

From The Daily Beast

But this 1929 study of the modern world, his most famous book, struck me as hopelessly nostalgic and elitist.

From The Daily Beast

Pragmatic requirements and anti-elitist political considerations collided with the literate model and a strange hybrid resulted.

From Project Gutenberg

Language is not an absolute democratic medium; literacy, with intrinsic elitist characteristics, even less.

From Project Gutenberg

The aim was to immediately inherit the wealth and power accumulated by generations of elitist rule.

From Project Gutenberg