multiculturalism

UK/ˌmʌltɪˈkʌltʃəɹəˌlɪz(ə)m/

noun

The characteristics of an organization, society, city etc. which has many different ethnic or national cultures mingling freely; political or social policies which support or encourage such coexistence.

“Near-synonym: polyculturalism (several or many)”

Opposite
Less commonFirst used 20th c.Scrabble 22

Meanings

nounmulticulturalism (countable and uncountable, plural multiculturalisms)

plural multiculturalisms

  1. countableuncountableThe characteristics of an organization, society, city etc. which has many different ethnic or national cultures mingling freely; political or social policies which support or encourage such coexistence.First known use 20th c.

    Near-synonym: polyculturalism (several or many)

    5 more examples

    The truth is that diversity, a kind of multiculturalism if we want to call it that, is the norm in any society.

    1984, David Malouf, A First Place, Vintage, published 2015, page 18

    Something had to replace the threat of communism, and at last a workable substitute is at hand. "Multiculturalism," as the new menace is known, has been denounced in the media recently as the new McCarthyism, the new fundamentalism, even the new totalitarianism – take your choice.

    1991 April 8, Barbara Ehrenreich, “Essay: Teach Diversity – with a Smile”, in Time

    Britain has pursued a policy of multiculturalism - allowing people of different cultures to settle without expecting them to integrate into society.

    2005 August 3, David Davis MP, Daily Telegraph

    Earlier this year he said multiculturalism had “failed”, that immigrants needed to “melt” into French society, and that “we do not want ostentatious prayers in the street in France.”

    2011 April 7, “On a mat and a prayer”, in The Economist

    Career diplomat Conrad Tribble said on Twitter that multiculturalism “is one of our greatest strengths as a country, and I go to that well often as an American diplomat. It’s hard to overstate the global soft power impact of America’s cultural diversity.”

    2021 January 19, Jennifer Hansler, Kylie Atwood and Nicole Gaouette, “Pompeo attacks multiculturalism, saying it is ‘not who America is’”, in CNN, archived from the original on 18 Jun 2021

    Synonyms: polyculturalism

  2. colloquialcountablederogatoryuncountableright-wingThe cultural Marxism conspiracy theory.

Synonyms & antonyms

nounThe characteristics of an organization, society, city etc. which has many different ethnic or national cultures mingling freely; political or social policies which support or encourage such coexistence.

More synonyms by meaning

nounthe doctrine that several different cultures (rather than one national culture) can coexist peacefully and equitably in a single country

Opposite
Broader
doctrinephilosophyphilosophical system

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*mel-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*ml̥tós?
  3. Proto-Italic*moltos
  4. Latinmultus
  5. Latinmultī
  6. Middle Englishmulti-
  7. Englishmulti-
  8. Proto-Indo-European*kʷelh₁-
  9. Proto-Indo-European*kʷélh₁eti
  10. Proto-Italic*kʷelō
  11. Latincolō
  12. Latincultūra
  13. Middle Frenchculture
  14. Englishculture
  15. Proto-Indo-European*h₂el-
  16. Proto-Indo-European*h₂élisder.?
  17. Englishmulticultural
  18. Englishmulticulturalism

From multicultural + -ism.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic اَلتَّعَدُّدِيَّةُ اَلثَّقَافِيَّة
  • اَلتَّعَدُّدِيَّةُ اَلثَّقَافِيَّة (at-taʕaddudiyyatu ṯ-ṯaqāfiyya)societal idea
Basque kultura-aniztasun
  • kultura-aniztasunsocietal idea
Bulgarian мултикултурали́зъм
  • мултикултурали́зъм (multikulturalízăm)societal idea
Catalan multiculturalisme
  • multiculturalismesocietal idea
Chinese Cantonese 多元文化主義 /多元文化主义
  • 多元文化主義 /多元文化主义 (do¹ jyun⁴ man⁴ faa³ zyu² ji⁶)societal idea
Chinese Mandarin 多元文化, 多元文化主義 /多元文化主义
  • 多元文化 (duōyuán wénhuà)societal idea
  • 多元文化主義 /多元文化主义 (duōyuánwénhuàzhǔyì)societal idea
Czech multikulturalismus
  • multikulturalismussocietal idea
Dutch multiculturalisme
  • multiculturalismesocietal idea
Esperanto multkulturismo
  • multkulturismosocietal idea
Estonian mitmekultuurilisus
  • mitmekultuurilisussocietal idea
Finnish monikulttuurisuus
  • monikulttuurisuussocietal idea
French multiculturalisme
  • multiculturalismesocietal idea
German Multikulturalismus
  • Multikulturalismussocietal idea
Greek πολυπολιτισμικότητα
  • πολυπολιτισμικότητα (polypolitismikótita)societal idea
Hebrew רב־תרבותיות
  • רב־תרבותיותsocietal idea
Hindi बहुसंस्कृतिवाद
  • बहुसंस्कृतिवाद (bahusanskŕtivād)societal idea
Hungarian multikulturalizmus
  • multikulturalizmussocietal idea
Irish ilchultúrachas, ilchultúrthacht
  • ilchultúrachassocietal idea
  • ilchultúrthachtsocietal idea
Italian multiculturalismo
  • multiculturalismosocietal idea
Japanese 多元文化論, 多文化
  • 多元文化論 (tagen-bunka-ron)societal idea
  • 多文化 (ta-bunka)societal idea
  • 多文化主義 (tabunkashugi)societal idea
  • マルチカルチュラリズム (maruchikaruchurarizumu)societal idea
Korean 다문화주의
  • 다문화주의 (damunhwajuui)societal idea
Latvian multikulturālisms
  • multikulturālismssocietal idea
Lithuanian multikultūralizmas
  • multikultūralizmassocietal idea
Norwegian multikulturalisme
  • multikulturalismesocietal idea
Polish wielokulturowość, multikulturowość
  • wielokulturowośćsocietal idea
  • multikulturowośćsocietal idea
  • multikulturalizmsocietal idea
  • multikultisocietal idea
Portuguese multiculturalismo
  • multiculturalismosocietal idea
Romanian multiculturalism
  • multiculturalismsocietal idea
Russian многокульту́рность, мультикультурали́зм
  • многокульту́рность (mnogokulʹtúrnostʹ)societal idea
  • мультикультурали́зм (mulʹtikulʹturalízm)societal idea
Spanish multiculturalismo, pluriculturalismo
  • multiculturalismosocietal idea
  • pluriculturalismosocietal idea
Swedish multikulturalism, mångkulturalism
  • multikulturalismsocietal idea
  • mångkulturalismsocietal idea
Thai พหุวัฒนธรรมนิยม
  • พหุวัฒนธรรมนิยม (phh̄u wạtʹhnṭhrrm niym)societal idea
Turkish çokkültürlülük, multikültüralizm
  • çokkültürlülüksocietal idea
  • multikültüralizmsocietal idea
Ukrainian мультикультуралізм
  • мультикультуралізм (mulʹtykulʹturalizm)societal idea
Vietnamese chủ nghĩa đa văn hóa
  • chủ nghĩa đa văn hóasocietal idea
Welsh amlddiwylliannaeth, amlddiwylliant
  • amlddiwylliannaethsocietal idea
  • amlddiwylliantsocietal idea
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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