adjective
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denoting or relating to the division of the human species into races on grounds of physical characteristics
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characteristic of any such group
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relating to or arising from differences between the races
racial harmony
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of or relating to a subspecies
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of racial
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."
Vocabulary lists containing racial
Tears of a Tiger
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Promises to Keep
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The Voice That Challenged a Nation
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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.
Racial background played a significant role, with 62% of White Catholics voting for Donald Trump and 37% for Kamala Harris, while 41% of Hispanic Catholics voted Trump and 58% Harris.
From BBC • Apr. 15, 2026
Racial resentment is a scale that social scientists have used to describe and measure anti-Black prejudice since the 1980s.
From Salon • Jan. 19, 2026
Racial resentment is measured using five survey items about structural racial inequality and is also depicted relative to the overall average.
From Slate • Jan. 6, 2026
Jackson oversaw Apple’s government affairs work, its efforts to reduce its environmental impact and the company’s $100 million Racial Equity and Justice Initiative.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 4, 2025
Racial minorities were always overrepresented in the criminal justice system, but as sociologists have noted, until the mid-1980s, the system was marginal to communities of color.
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
Definitions 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.
