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

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.

Example Sentences

These dangers are particularly obvious to academics and other intellectual elites: They include fascism, nativism, anti-intellectualism, persecution of unpopular minorities, exaltation of the mediocre, and romantic exaggeration of the wisdom and virtue of the masses.

From Salon • Aug. 19, 2025

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

The peasant kitchen is inclined toward nativism and xenophobia; Berger describes the peasant’s aversion to “foreign” provisions, which are not part of the intimate local foodway and are thus unknowable and untrustworthy.

From Slate • Mar. 15, 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

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