communalism

[ kuh-myoon-l-iz-uhm, kom-yuh-nl- ]

noun

1. a theory or system of government according to which each commune is virtually an independent state and the nation is merely a federation of such states.
2. the principles or practices of communal ownership.
3. strong allegiance to one's own ethnic group rather than to society as a whole.

communalism

/ ˈkɒmjʊnəˌlɪzəm /

noun

1. a system or theory of government in which the state is seen as a loose federation of self-governing communities
2. an electoral system in which ethnic groups vote separately for their own representatives
3. loyalty to the interests of one's own ethnic group rather than to society as a whole
4. the practice or advocacy of communal living or ownership

Derived Forms

• ˈcommunalist, noun
• ˌcommunaˈlistic, adjective

Other Words From

• com·munal·ist noun
• com·munal·istic adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of communalism¹

First recorded in 1870–75; communal + -ism

Example Sentences

And while there are certainly also toxic forms of communalism, I more often see my clients blaming themselves for struggling to connect and needing to connect at all.

From Seattle Times

The practice of polygamy is the best known of these, but the church also experimented with economic communalism for decades.

From Washington Post

India’s turn toward intolerance and communalism is finally eliciting a response from the world.

From Washington Post

“From a feminist viewpoint the major achievement of most communitarian experiments was ending the isolation of the housewife,” wrote Dolores Hayden in her classic study of feminist communalism, “The Grand Domestic Revolution.”

From New York Times

Murugan’s latest novel folds the violent repressions of contemporary India — the casteism and communalism — into the biography of a deeply unlucky little goat.

From New York Times