Meanings
plural nepotisms
- countableuncountableThe favoring of relatives (most strictly) or also personal friends (more broadly) because of their relationship rather than because of their abilities.
Nepotism can get you very far in the world if you've got the right connections.
2 more examples
Now retailers even demand deslotting or failure fees, a penalty for trial products that fail to meet their sales objectives. The struggle over display space heavily favors the incumbents and encourages what might be called brand nepotism.
1989, Report on Business Magazine, volume 6, numbers 1-6, page 100Mr Chen - a member of the national politburo as well as the Shanghai boss - is accused of nepotism and corruption on a grand scale: protecting political allies, granting preferment to his family and looting Shanghai's pension fund.
2006 September 27, “China airbrushes Chen”, in Financial TimesAntonyms: meritocracy
Synonyms & antonyms
nounThe favoring of relatives (most strictly) or also personal friends (more broadly) because of their relationship rather than because of their abilities.
Origin
- Latinnepōs“nephew”
- Italiannepotismo
- Frenchnépotisme
- Englishnepotism
Borrowed from French népotisme, from Italian nepotismo, from Latin nepōs (“nephew”), a reference to the practice of popes appointing relatives (most often nephews) as cardinals (cardinal-nephew) during the Middle Ages and Renaissance.
More words from French, Italian, Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian шуробаджанащина
- шуробаджанащина (šurobadžanaština)favoring of relatives or personal friends
Catalan nepotisme
- nepotismefavoring of relatives or personal friends
Chinese Mandarin 偏袒, 裙帶關係 /裙带关系
- 偏袒 (piāntǎn)favoring of relatives or personal friends
- 裙帶關係 /裙带关系 (qúndài guānxì)favoring of relatives or personal friends
- 任人唯親 /任人唯亲 (rènrénwéiqīn)favoring of relatives or personal friends
Czech rodinkářství, nepotismus
- rodinkářstvífavoring of relatives or personal friends
- nepotismusfavoring of relatives or personal friends
- nepotizmusfavoring of relatives or personal friends
Danish nepotisme
- nepotismefavoring of relatives or personal friends
Dutch nepotisme, vriendjespolitiek
- nepotismefavoring of relatives or personal friends
- vriendjespolitiekfavoring of relatives or personal friends
Esperanto nepotismo
- nepotismofavoring of relatives or personal friends
Estonian onupojapoliitika, nepotism
- onupojapoliitikafavoring of relatives or personal friends
- nepotismfavoring of relatives or personal friends
Finnish nepotismi
- nepotismifavoring of relatives or personal friends
French népotisme, copinage
- népotismefavoring of relatives or personal friends
- copinagefavoring of relatives or personal friends
German Nepotismus, Vetternwirtschaft
- Nepotismusfavoring of relatives or personal friends
- Vetternwirtschaftfavoring of relatives or personal friends
Greek οικογενειοκρατία
- οικογενειοκρατία (oikogeneiokratía)favoring of relatives or personal friends
Hebrew נֶפּוֹטִיזְם
- נֶפּוֹטִיזְם (nepotizm)favoring of relatives or personal friends
Hindi भाई-भतीजावाद
- भाई-भतीजावाद (bhāī-bhatījāvād)favoring of relatives or personal friends
Hungarian nepotizmus
- nepotizmusfavoring of relatives or personal friends
Icelandic frændhygli
- frændhyglifavoring of relatives or personal friends
Indonesian nepotisme
- nepotismefavoring of relatives or personal friends
Irish finíochas
- finíochasfavoring of relatives or personal friends
Italian nepotismo
- nepotismofavoring of relatives or personal friends
Japanese 縁者贔屓
- 縁者贔屓 (enjabiiki)favoring of relatives or personal friends
Korean 족벌주의
- 족벌주의 (jokbeoljuui)favoring of relatives or personal friends
Polish nepotyzm
- nepotyzmfavoring of relatives or personal friends
Portuguese nepotismo
- nepotismofavoring of relatives or personal friends
Romanian nepotism
- nepotismfavoring of relatives or personal friends
Russian непоти́зм, кумовство́
- непоти́зм (nepotízm)favoring of relatives or personal friends
- кумовство́ (kumovstvó)favoring of relatives or personal friends
Spanish nepotismo, sobrinazgo
- nepotismofavoring of relatives or personal friends
- sobrinazgofavoring of relatives or personal friends
Swahili upendeleo wa ndugu
- upendeleo wa ndugufavoring of relatives or personal friends
Swedish nepotism, svågerpolitik
- nepotismfavoring of relatives or personal friends
- svågerpolitikfavoring of relatives or personal friends
Thai คติเห็นแก่ญาติ
- คติเห็นแก่ญาติfavoring of relatives or personal friends
Turkish kayırma, kayırmacılık
- kayırmafavoring of relatives or personal friends
- kayırmacılıkfavoring of relatives or personal friends
- adam kayırmafavoring of relatives or personal friends
- nepotizmfavoring of relatives or personal friends
- iltimasfavoring of relatives or personal friends
- kohumbazlıkfavoring of relatives or personal friends
- torpilfavoring of relatives or personal friends
Ukrainian кумі́вство, непоти́зм
- кумі́вство (kumívstvo)favoring of relatives or personal friends
- непоти́зм (nepotýzm)favoring of relatives or personal friends
Welsh neigarwch, neiedd
- neigarwchfavoring of relatives or personal friends
- neieddfavoring of relatives or personal friends
Cite this entry
nepotism. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nepotism
“nepotism.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nepotism. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “nepotism,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nepotism.
Source: nepotism on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.