nativism
Americannoun
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the policy of protecting the interests of native inhabitants against those of immigrants.
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the policy or practice of preserving or reviving an Indigenous culture.
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Philosophy. the doctrine that innate ideas exist.
noun
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the policy of favouring the natives of a country over the immigrants
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anthropol the policy of protecting and reaffirming native tribal cultures in reaction to acculturation
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the doctrine that the mind and its capacities are innately structured and that much knowledge is innate
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of nativism
Explanation
People who oppose immigration because they feel their culture will be lost or blended in with a new one can be said to believe in nativism. There have been times in history that nativism allowed a culture to survive, particularly Native American Indian tribes. When the dominant group practices nativism, however, the result looks a lot like a hatred or fear of people who look different, speak a different language, and hold different beliefs than the majority of people.
Vocabulary lists containing nativism
American History - Middle School
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American History - High School
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Chapter 25: The Jazz Age
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
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
He defines nativism as a “xenophobic form of nationalism”.
From BBC ● May 25, 2024
But language models learn language quickly, too, and seemingly without an innate understanding of how language works — so maybe nativism doesn’t hold water.
From New York Times ● May 30, 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
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
