Meanings
nounageism (countable and uncountable, plural ageisms)
plural ageisms · alternative proscribed sometimes uncommon agism
- countableuncountableThe treating of a person or people, especially older people, differently from others based on assumptions, prejudices or/and stereotypes relating to their age.
But a half-hour into this third Democratic debate, many Democrats had to be wondering: Can he [Joe Biden] go three hours? It’s our own collective ageism.
2019 September 13, Timothy Egan, “It Will Take More Than Cheap Shots to Knock Off Biden”, in The New York Times, →ISSN
Synonyms & antonyms
noundiscrimination on the basis of a person's age
Similar
Also see
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
From age + -ism. Coined by American academic Robert N. Butler in 1969.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Basque adinkeria
- adinkeriathe treating of a person or people differently from others based on assumptions or stereotypes relating to their age
Catalan edatisme
- edatismethe treating of a person or people differently from others based on assumptions or stereotypes relating to their age
Chinese Mandarin 年齡歧視 /年龄歧视
- 年齡歧視 /年龄歧视the treating of a person or people differently from others based on assumptions or stereotypes relating to their age
Dutch leeftijdsdiscriminatie
- leeftijdsdiscriminatiethe treating of a person or people differently from others based on assumptions or stereotypes relating to their age
Esperanto aĝismo
- aĝismothe treating of a person or people differently from others based on assumptions or stereotypes relating to their age
Estonian vanuseline diskrimineerimine
- vanuseline diskrimineeriminethe treating of a person or people differently from others based on assumptions or stereotypes relating to their age
Finnish ikäsyrjintä
- ikäsyrjintäthe treating of a person or people differently from others based on assumptions or stereotypes relating to their age
French âgisme
- âgismethe treating of a person or people differently from others based on assumptions or stereotypes relating to their age
German Altersdiskriminierung
- Altersdiskriminierungthe treating of a person or people differently from others based on assumptions or stereotypes relating to their age
Hebrew גִּילָנוּת
- גִּילָנוּת (gilanút)the treating of a person or people differently from others based on assumptions or stereotypes relating to their age
Hungarian korizmus
- korizmusthe treating of a person or people differently from others based on assumptions or stereotypes relating to their age
Indonesian ageisme
- ageismethe treating of a person or people differently from others based on assumptions or stereotypes relating to their age
Italian ageismo
- ageismothe treating of a person or people differently from others based on assumptions or stereotypes relating to their age
Japanese 年齢差別
- 年齢差別 (nenreisabetsu)the treating of a person or people differently from others based on assumptions or stereotypes relating to their age
Korean 연령 차별
- 연령 차별 (yeollyeong chabyeol)the treating of a person or people differently from others based on assumptions or stereotypes relating to their age
Māori toihara taipakeke
- toihara taipakekethe treating of a person or people differently from others based on assumptions or stereotypes relating to their age
Polish ageizm
- ageizmthe treating of a person or people differently from others based on assumptions or stereotypes relating to their age
Portuguese idadismo, etarismo
- idadismothe treating of a person or people differently from others based on assumptions or stereotypes relating to their age
- etarismothe treating of a person or people differently from others based on assumptions or stereotypes relating to their age
- ageísmothe treating of a person or people differently from others based on assumptions or stereotypes relating to their age
Romanian ageism, agism
- ageismthe treating of a person or people differently from others based on assumptions or stereotypes relating to their age
- agismthe treating of a person or people differently from others based on assumptions or stereotypes relating to their age
Russian дискримина́ция по во́зрасту, эйджи́зм
- дискримина́ция по во́зрасту (diskriminácija po vózrastu)the treating of a person or people differently from others based on assumptions or stereotypes relating to their age
- эйджи́зм (ejdžízm)the treating of a person or people differently from others based on assumptions or stereotypes relating to their age
Spanish edadismo
- edadismothe treating of a person or people differently from others based on assumptions or stereotypes relating to their age
Swedish åldersdiskriminering, ålderism
- åldersdiskrimineringthe treating of a person or people differently from others based on assumptions or stereotypes relating to their age
- ålderismthe treating of a person or people differently from others based on assumptions or stereotypes relating to their age
Turkish yaş ayrımcılığı
- yaş ayrımcılığıthe treating of a person or people differently from others based on assumptions or stereotypes relating to their age
Vietnamese phân biệt tuổi tác
- phân biệt tuổi tácthe treating of a person or people differently from others based on assumptions or stereotypes relating to their age
Welsh oedraniaeth
- oedraniaeththe treating of a person or people differently from others based on assumptions or stereotypes relating to their age
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
APA
ageism. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ageism
MLA
“ageism.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ageism. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “ageism,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ageism.
Source: ageism on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.