racial

American  

[ray-shuhl] / ˈreɪ ʃəl /

adjective

1. of or relating to the social construct of race.

   racial diversity;

   racial stereotypes.

2. (no longer in technical use) of, relating to, or characteristic of one race or the races of humankind.

---

racial British  

/ ˈreɪʃəl /

adjective

1. denoting or relating to the division of the human species into races on grounds of physical characteristics

2. characteristic of any such group

3. relating to or arising from differences between the races

   racial harmony

4. of or relating to a subspecies

---

Other Word Forms

• antiracial
  adjective
• nonracial
  adjective
• racially
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of racial

First recorded in 1860–65; race ² + -ial

Explanation

Something racial is related to the characteristics people have because of their genetic or ethnic origins. Racial differences sometimes lead to racial tension. Members of the same racial group share a very old genetic connection — their ancestors lived in the same part of the world, and they're distantly related. When people talk about "racial diversity," they mean that many of these groups are represented, for example, in a single city. The noun race is at the heart of the adjective racial, and it comes from Old French, with an Italian root word, razza, "race, breed, lineage, or family."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

racial

Debs was steadfast in support of women’s rights and racial equality.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026

The Rev. Patricia Coleman-Burns, a University of Michigan professor emerita who grew up in Detroit and has watched the region’s racial and political coalitions shift for more than 70 years, was a die-hard Stevens supporter.

From Slate ● Oct. 6, 2026

And she said the racial disparities in SAT results are seen in other standardized measures of academic knowledge and reflect of the nation’s inequalities in K-12 education rather than a specific problem with the SAT.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 29, 2026

These are aimed at redressing historic racial inequality.

From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026

Although the organization included racial justice among its core priorities, reform of the criminal justice system was not a major part of its racial justice work.

From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander