xenophobe
Americannoun
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a person who fears or hates foreigners, people from different cultures, or strangers.
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a person who fears or dislikes the customs, dress, etc., of people who are culturally different.
noun
Etymology
Origin of xenophobe
Explanation
Someone who hates, distrusts, or fears foreigners is a xenophobe. If your neighbor complains bitterly about all the immigrants in your city, he's probably a xenophobe. Xenophobe derives from the Greek xenos, "stranger," and phobos, "fear." Originally, the word had the same meaning that "agoraphobe" does today — someone who fears crowded or unfamiliar places. Since the early 1900s, it's been used for those who are narrow-minded and distrustful when it comes to people born in different countries, who speak different languages and practice different religions than they themselves do.
Vocabulary lists containing xenophobe
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.
In 2021, Morrissey accused The Simpsons of "hatred" and "complete ignorance" after a character its writers admitted was partially based on him was portrayed as a meat-eating, overweight xenophobe.
From BBC • Aug. 27, 2024
A recording of the exchange promptly went viral earlier this week, and the Intercept’s Shaun King soon identified Schlossberg as the xenophobe in the video.
From Slate • May 18, 2018
Bayliss, no xenophobe, no protectionist and no killjoy, just wished to consider American kids who might not dream of Wimbledon or the U.S.
From Washington Post • May 30, 2017
Until a short time ago, Azar might have been derided as a xenophobe, even a fascist, for his radical separatist views.
From New York Times • Aug. 10, 2016
You can get called a Little Englander for saying that, or even branded a xenophobe or a racist, but if international football is not about one country against another, what is it about?
From The Guardian • Jun. 18, 2012
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.
