ageist

American  

[ey-jist] / ˈeɪ dʒɪst /

adjective

1. relating to, involving, or fostering discrimination against persons of a certain age group.

   This ageist narrative about the shortcomings of contemporary youngsters has become widely accepted, but it is useful to remember that every cohort has faced the same prejudice when they were young.

2. showing or suggesting a belief that older people are debilitated, unworthy of attention, or unsuitable for employment.

   The movie provides a window into the diverse lives of older LGBTQ adults, trampling common ageist stereotypes and showing viewers that there is no singular LGBTQ elder story.

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noun

1. someone who discriminates against persons of a certain age group, especially older people.

   As young global citizens and digital natives, we're here to prove ageists and Luddites wrong.

Etymology

Origin of ageist

age ( def. ) + -ist ( def. )

Explanation

An ageist is someone who discriminates against people because of their age. It would be ageist for a company to fire an employee for being too old. Similar to sexist or racist beliefs, being ageist means having a dislike for or bias against someone because of who they are — in this case, because of how old they happen to be. It's most common for ageists to discriminate against elderly people, or to make assumptions about their abilities based on stereotypes. Sometimes adults are also ageist when it comes to kids and teenagers, dismissing their opinions and ideas because they're young.

Example Sentences

But these potentially ageist descriptors are problematic at best — and illegal at worst.

From MarketWatch • Dec. 10, 2025

“I think the difficulty there would be drawing the line between what is ageist and what is really fair,” Tan said.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 25, 2024

“That after all this work on my own personal shadow, I still had an ageist part.”

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 12, 2023

“It’s an ageist notion that everything that we design for older adults needs to serve some kind of cognitive purpose instead of just designing games for them to have fun,” Boot said.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 20, 2023

Becca Levy, an epidemiologist, has done research suggesting that the people who hold the most ageist views live seven and a half years shorter than the people who hold the most positive views about aging.

From Salon • Jul. 23, 2023