ableist

American  

[ey-buhl-ist] / ˈeɪ bəl ɪst /

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.

Etymology

Origin of ableist

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

Example Sentences

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

“Wicked” actor Marissa Bode is speaking out against the ableist discourse surrounding her character, Nessarose, after the movie musical’s debut.

From Los Angeles Times

But Knight, Larraín, and Jolie are all careful to avoid reducing Callas to an over-the-top ableist stereotype or portraying her as the ruthless prima donna tigress the media painted her as.

From Salon

"There are lots of people who have perfect mobility and speech who would be terrible as president of the United States. I'm not here to say whether or not Joe Biden is the right person for the job right now, but what I can say is there is absolutely a less ableist, more accurate and meaningful way to conduct this conversation."

From Salon

Vance also makes Deborah look visibly, painfully humbled when she admits in front of a roomful of strangers, along with a reporter who could send her back into exile with a single article, that she doesn’t know what the term “ableist” means.

From Salon