Meanings
plural nationisms
- 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 222 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 9For 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.
Full word history & related roots →Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
nationism. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nationism
“nationism.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nationism. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “nationism,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nationism.
Source: nationism on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.