ableist

[ey-buhl-ist]

adjective

1. relating to, involving, or fostering discrimination against disabled people: ableist architecture;

   ableist language;

   ableist architecture;

   implicitly ableist laws.

2. tending to regard people with a disability as incomplete, diminished, or damaged, and to measure the quality of life with a disability against a nondisabled standard: ableist assumptions.

   an ableist culture;

   ableist assumptions.

noun

1. A person with ableist assumptions, beliefs, or attitudes.

   The work of changing how ableists think often falls to people with disabilities.

Word History and Origins

Origin of ableist¹

First recorded in 1980–85; able ( def. ) + -ist ( def. )

Example Sentences

“For over a decade at Fox, Faraji was forced to endure a misogynistic, racist, and ableist workplace where executives and talent were allowed to physically and verbally abuse workers with impunity,” the lawsuit alleged.

From Los Angeles Times

The movie changed with time, taking on deeper meaning by igniting conversations about how women are depicted in media, and cracked open the inherently flawed “crazy woman” trope to reveal it as what it is: ableist and misogynistic.

From Salon

Maskell said she was glad there had been a public debate about the issue and "now disabled people should feel empowered to have their voice at long last in an ableist parliament".

From BBC

That lawsuit — which also named former Fox Sports host Skip Bayless and current host Joy Taylor as defendants — alleges Faraji “was forced to endure a misogynistic, racist, and ableist workplace where executives and talent were allowed to physically and verbally abuse workers with impunity” during her decade-plus working at the network.

From Los Angeles Times

In any case, he added, blaming the vaccine is an “ableist” response to autism by some parents.

From Los Angeles Times