segregationist
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of segregationist
First recorded in 1910–15; segregation + -ist
Explanation
Someone who believes that people of different races shouldn't live, work, or go to school together is a segregationist. As the laws about racial segregation have changed, it's become less and less socially acceptable to openly be a segregationist. Before the 1950s, there were many white segregationists who actively opposed the integration of schools, workplaces, and neighborhoods, and until 1967 it was still illegal for black and white people to marry each other in some US states. Segregationist comes from the Latin root segregare, "set apart, isolate, or divide."
Vocabulary lists containing segregationist
Stamped
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Warriors Don't Cry
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Just Mercy
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
Guided by that principle, one of us helped launch an effort within Maryland’s Department of Juvenile Services to examine its history, including its segregationist past.
From Slate ● Mar. 30, 2026
Worse, it portrayed the beloved character of Atticus Finch as a segregationist.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 31, 2025
Set in Maycomb, it sees two siblings, clearly Lee and her older sister Alice, confounded by her sister's black gardener Arthur, who's from the North but has apparently decided to work in the segregationist South.
From BBC ● Oct. 20, 2025
White bridge-builders were key to liberating the segregationist South, as the historian David Chappel shows in his book Inside Agitators.
From Salon ● Aug. 23, 2024
Hodges’ chief political foe at this time was an outspoken segregationist named I. Beverly Lake, an assistant state attorney general, who, it was rumored, planned to oppose Hodges in the 1956 gubernatorial race.
From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson
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.
