nationism

N1A1T1I1O1N1I1S1M3
UK/ˈneɪʃənɪz(ə)m/

noun

The practical concerns of running a nation, especially seen as divorced from emotional beliefs about national identity.

Scrabble 11

Meanings

nounnationism (countable and uncountable, plural nationisms)

plural nationisms

  1. countableuncountablehuman sciencesThe practical concerns of running a nation, especially seen as divorced from emotional beliefs about national identity.

    Instead of this, the dominant role of language in nation-building in many states, at least in the early post-independence era, has been […] pragmatic nationism rather than aggressive nationalism.

    2008, Andrew Simpson, Language and National Identity in Africa, page 22
    2 more examples

    In determining language policies, Fishman contends that a country needs to balance the concerns of nationalism (the feelings that develop from a sense of group identity) and nationism (the practical concerns of governing).

    1992, Sandra McKay, Teaching English Overseas: an Introduction, page 9

    For these nations language was a prior criterion of national identity, in the sense of ‘nationalism’, and only later became and issue at the level of ‘nation’, once these societies had made the transition from nationalism to nationism.

    2002, Tim Ingold, Companion Encyclopedia of Anthropology, page 544

Origin

From nation + -ism, by Joshua Fishman, 1968.

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Rhymes & wordplay

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Cite this entry
APA

nationism. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nationism

MLA

“nationism.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nationism. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “nationism,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nationism.

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