elitism

E1L1I1T1I1S1M3
/ɪˈliːtɪzəm//eɪˈliːtɪzəm/

noun

The belief that a society or system should be run by an elite.

OriginEnglish elite ← Middle English elit ← Old French eslit →
UncommonScrabble 9
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Meanings

nounelitism (countable and uncountable, plural elitisms)

plural elitisms · alternative élitism

  1. countableuncountableThe belief that a society or system should be run by an elite.
  2. countableuncountableThe superior attitude or behaviour associated with an elite.

    Dati launched a blistering attack on the prime minister, François Fillon, under whom she served as justice minister, accusing him of sexism, elitism, arrogance and hindering the political advancement of ethnic minorities.

    2011 December 14, Angelique Chrisafis, “Rachida Dati accuses French PM of sexism and elitism”, in The Guardian

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
inegalitarianism

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₁éǵʰ
  2. Proto-Indo-European*h₁éǵʰs
  3. Proto-Italic*eks
  4. Latinex
  5. Latinex-
  6. Proto-Indo-European*leǵ-
  7. Proto-Indo-European*léǵeti
  8. Proto-Italic*legō
  9. Latinlegō
  10. Latinēligō
  11. Latinēlēctus
  12. Vulgar Latin*exlectus?
  13. Old Frencheslit
  14. Middle Englishelit
  15. Englishelite
  16. Englishelitism

From elite + -ism. First attested in the 1930s.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic نُخْبَوِيَّة
  • نُخْبَوِيَّة (nuḵbawiyya)belief society should be run by elite
Bengali এলিটিজম
  • এলিটিজম (eliṭijom)belief society should be run by elite
Catalan elitisme
  • elitismebelief society should be run by elite
Chinese Mandarin 精英主義 /精英主义
  • 精英主義 /精英主义 (jīngyīngzhǔyì)belief society should be run by elite
Czech elitářství
  • elitářstvíbelief society should be run by elite
Dutch elitisme, elitarisme
  • elitismebelief society should be run by elite
  • elitarismebelief society should be run by elite
Finnish elitismi
  • elitismibelief society should be run by elite
French élitisme
  • élitismebelief society should be run by elite
German Elitarismus
  • Elitarismusbelief society should be run by elite
Greek ελιτισμός
  • ελιτισμός (elitismós)belief society should be run by elite
Icelandic úrvalsstefna
  • úrvalsstefnabelief society should be run by elite
Italian elitismo
  • elitismobelief society should be run by elite
Japanese エリート主義
  • エリート主義 (erītoshugi)belief society should be run by elite
Korean 엘리트주의
  • 엘리트주의 (elliteujuui)belief society should be run by elite
Persian نخبهگرایی
  • نخبهگرایی (noxbe-garâyi)belief society should be run by elite
Polish elityzm
  • elityzmbelief society should be run by elite
Portuguese elitismo
  • elitismobelief society should be run by elite
Russian элитари́зм, элити́зм
  • элитари́зм (elitarízm)belief society should be run by elite
  • элити́зм (elitízm)belief society should be run by elite
  • элита́рность (elitárnostʹ)belief society should be run by elite
Spanish elitismo
  • elitismobelief society should be run by elite
Swedish elitism
  • elitismbelief society should be run by elite
Tamil எளிடிசம்
  • எளிடிசம் (eḷiṭicam)belief society should be run by elite
Turkish elitizm
  • elitizmbelief society should be run by elite
Cite this entry
APA

elitism. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/elitism

MLA

“elitism.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/elitism. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “elitism,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/elitism.

Source: elitism on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.