apartheid

[ uh-pahr-tahyt, -teyt ]

noun

1. (in the Republic of South Africa) a rigid former policy of segregating and economically and politically oppressing the nonwhite population.
2. any system or practice that separates people according to color, ethnicity, caste, etc.

apartheid

/ əˈpɑːthaɪt; -heɪt /

noun

1. (in South Africa) the official government policy of racial segregation; officially renounced in 1992

apartheid

1. The racist policy ( see racism ) of South Africa that long denied blacks and other nonwhites civic, social, and economic equality with whites. It was dismantled during the 1990s. ( See Nelson Mandela .)

Other Words From

• an·ti·a·part·heid noun adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of apartheid¹

First recorded in 1945–50; from Afrikaans apart apart + -heid -hood

Word History and Origins

Origin of apartheid¹

C20: Afrikaans, from apart apart + -heid -hood

Example Sentences

The war on drugs had erupted, apartheid was raging, Jesse Jackson would soon make the campus a staging ground for his inaugural presidential bid.

From Los Angeles Times

"That comes from the anti-apartheid struggle and the solidarity that Labour and people that were the Labour movement provided for combating apartheid," he says.

From BBC

To suggest that a Black person is lazy is a very old white racist stereotype that has its origins in white on Black chattel slavery and the American apartheid system that deemed Black people as incapable of full citizenship, “natural” slaves, childlike and members of a subordinate and inferior group that was unfit for freedom.

From Salon

The ANC, which has governed South Africa since the end of apartheid three decades ago, lost its majority in May's general election, forcing it into a deal with other political parties.

From BBC

The minister defended the decision, highlighting Ukraine’s support of South Africa during its struggle against apartheid.

From BBC

Related Words

• discrimination
• racism