lookism

L1O1O1K5I1S1M3
/ˈlʊkɪz(ə)m/

noun

Prejudice or discrimination on the grounds of a person's physical appearance.

Scrabble 13

Meanings

nounlookism (uncountable)

alternative looksism

  1. uncountablePrejudice or discrimination on the grounds of a person's physical appearance.

    Joseph Connor's job as a cook at a McDonald's in Hamden, Conn., never materialized, and he thinks he knows why — lookism.

    2003 May 13, Catherine Valenti, “Victims of 'Lookism' Face Uphill Battle”, in ABC News
    3 more examples

    "We face a world," says Nancy Etcoff, a psychologist at Massachusetts General Hospital, "where lookism is one of the most pervasive but denied prejudices."

    2000 August 27, William Safire, quoting Nancy Etcoff, “Lookism: Uglies of the world, unite!”, in The New York Times Magazine (On Language)

    This is what I love about R4 - lookism goes out the window. But in comes voicism. Don't even consider a career in radio if you're from Toxteth or the Gorbals.

    2002 April 12, Michael Calwell, “Re: Anyone listen to 'Today'?”, in uk.media.radio.bbc-r4 (Usenet)

    And those valiant people who fight lookism (many of them unattractive themselves) tell us that one problem is that in our society, those who get to be called beautiful and those who are called ugly are determined by standards arbitrarily set by us.

    2004, George Carlin, When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops?, New York: Hyperion Books, →ISBN, →OCLC, →OL, page 71

    Synonyms: bodyism, looksism

Synonyms & antonyms

nounPrejudice or discrimination on the grounds of a person's physical appearance.

Origin

Translations

Chinese Mandarin 外貌歧視 /外貌歧视
  • 外貌歧視 /外貌歧视 (wàimào qíshì)Translations
French lookisme
  • lookismeTranslations
German Lookism, Lookismus
  • LookismTranslations
  • LookismusTranslations
Japanese ルッキズム
  • ルッキズム (rukkizumu)Translations
Korean 루키즘, 외모지상주의
  • 루키즘 (rukijeum)Translations
  • 외모지상주의 (oemojisangjuui)Translations
Polish atrakcjonizm
  • atrakcjonizmTranslations
Spanish aspectismo
  • aspectismoTranslations

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

lookism. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/lookism

MLA

“lookism.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/lookism. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “lookism,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/lookism.

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