noun
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a pronunciation, phrase, etc, peculiar to a particular locality
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another word for provincialism
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of localism
Explanation
Localism is a preference for the place where you live. Your localism might make it hard for you to understand people who come from other countries. Localism can range from a love for the town in which you live to a prejudice against other states or countries. A police officer who's accused of localism may have a habit of only giving speeding tickets to out-of-towners, for example. A more positive kind of localism might inspire you to buy vegetables that are grown nearby and purchase tools at the neighborhood hardware shop instead of at a store that is part of a national chain.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Yet the agency says it will enforce the cap on a “case-by-case approach” based on a review of “the Commission’s interests in localism, viewpoint diversity, and competition.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026
Both the ceramic and the chamoy traditions symbolize layers of culture as shaped by globalism and localism.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 17, 2026
At the core of our mythic remembrance of that era is a sense of localism, a sense of working-class security and pride.
From BBC ● May 24, 2025
That’s just baked into the system of localism.
From Slate ● Feb. 18, 2022
If this is localism, what would its opposite look like?
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
