Meanings
plural macroaggressions
- countableuncountablehuman sciencesLarge-scale or overt aggression toward those of a certain race, culture, gender, etc., contrasted with microaggression.
These are juxtaposed with brutal news footage and Isis YouTube propaganda. Here are the alienations and macroaggressions of the contemporary world.
2018 May 11, Peter Bradshaw, “The Image Book review – Godard's eyeball-frazzling video essay bewilders and delights”, in The Guardian2 more examples
People of color, particularly African-American men, have been caught up in a twister of macroaggressions and micro ones. No amount of ignoring can alleviate it; no amount of achieving can ameliorate it.
2015 January 5, Charles M. Blow, “Privilege of ‘Arrest Without Incident’”, in The New York Times, →ISSNThey meet microaggression with macroaggression, bullying kids and adults who, say, refer to the transgender reality star Caitlyn Jenner as anything less than “stunning and brave.”
2015 December 8, James Poniewozik, “How ‘South Park’ Perfectly Captures Our Era of Outrage”, in The New York Times, →ISSN
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*meh₂ḱ-
- Proto-Indo-European*mh₂ḱrós
- Proto-Hellenic*makrós
- Ancient Greekμᾰκρός (măkrós)
- Frenchmacro-
- Englishmacro-
- Proto-Indo-European*h₂éd
- Proto-Italic*ad
- Proto-Italic*ad-
- Latinad-
- Proto-Indo-European*gʰredʰ-
- Latingradior
- Latinaggredior
- Latinaggressiō
- Middle Frenchaggression
- Englishaggression
- Englishmacroaggression
From macro- + aggression.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
macroaggression. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/macroaggression
“macroaggression.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/macroaggression. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “macroaggression,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/macroaggression.
Source: macroaggression on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.