nativism

American  

[ney-ti-viz-uhm] / ˈneɪ tɪˌvɪz əm /

noun

1. the policy of protecting the interests of native inhabitants against those of immigrants.

2. the policy or practice of preserving or reviving an Indigenous culture.

3. Philosophy. the doctrine that innate ideas exist.

4. innateness hypothesis.

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nativism British  

/ ˈneɪtɪˌvɪzəm /

noun

1. the policy of favouring the natives of a country over the immigrants

2. anthropol the policy of protecting and reaffirming native tribal cultures in reaction to acculturation

3. the doctrine that the mind and its capacities are innately structured and that much knowledge is innate

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Other Word Forms

• nativist noun
• nativistic adjective

Etymology

Origin of nativism

An Americanism dating back to 1835–45; native + -ism

Example Sentences

Another case study, reckon some who know the Prime Minister's mind, of an instinct for a sliver of economic nativism.

From BBC • Apr. 12, 2025

And notwithstanding the constant shrieks about America’s nativism and xenophobia, the melting pot continues to burble along.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 11, 2024

Experts and politicians said support for an easier immigration process, and opposition to nativism and xenophobia, were major factors in Indian Americans’ political preferences.

From New York Times • Feb. 27, 2023

But you see a rise of nativism in the 1990s that was no longer constrained by this need to project a welcoming image to the world.

From Salon • Oct. 17, 2022

And once again it became clear that one hundred years after the first Red Scare and some sixty-five after a second, nativism and a mistrust of foreigners are still very much with us.

From "1919 The Year That Changed America" by Martin W. Sandler