apartheid

[ uh-pahrt-hahyt, -heyt, uh-pahr-tahyt, -teyt ]
/ əˈpɑrt haɪt, -heɪt, əˈpɑr taɪt, -teɪt /

noun

(in the Republic of South Africa) a rigid former policy of segregating and economically and politically oppressing the nonwhite population.
any system or practice that separates people according to color, ethnicity, caste, etc.

QUIZZES

DO YOU KNOW THIS VOCABULARY FROM "THE HANDMAID'S TALE"?

"The Handmaid's Tale" was required reading for many of us in school. Everyone else has probably watched the very popular and addictive TV show. Do you remember this vocabulary from the book, and do you know what these terms mean?
Question 1 of 10
decorum
the act of or need for making up one's mind.
dignified propriety of behavior, speech, dress, etc.
a company of singers, especially an organized group employed in church service.
TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of apartheid

1945–50; < Afrikaans, equivalent to apart apart + -heid -hood

OTHER WORDS FROM apartheid

an·ti·a·part·heid, noun, adjective

Words nearby apartheid

aparavidya, aparejo, aparri, apart, apart from, apartheid, aparthotel, apartment, apartment hotel, apartment house, apartmentize
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for anti-apartheid

British Dictionary definitions for anti-apartheid (1 of 2)

anti-apartheid

adjective

opposed to apartheidthe anti-apartheid movement

British Dictionary definitions for anti-apartheid (2 of 2)

apartheid
/ (əˈpɑːthaɪt, -heɪt) /

noun

(in South Africa) the official government policy of racial segregation; officially renounced in 1992

Word Origin for apartheid

C20: Afrikaans, from apart apart + -heid -hood
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for anti-apartheid

apartheid
[ (uh-pahr-teyet, uh-pahr-tayt) ]

The racist policy (see racism) of South Africa that long denied blacks and other nonwhites civic, social, and economic equality with whites. It was dismantled during the 1990s. (See Nelson Mandela.)

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.