white supremacy
noun
1
: the belief that the white race is inherently superior to other races and that white people should have control over people of other races
The alt-right is a reactionary conservative movement … . It is characterized by an embrace of fascism, white supremacy, and misogyny …—
Constance Grady
Constance Grady2
: the social, economic, and political systems that collectively enable white people to maintain power over people of other races
… [William] Kelley turned his considerable intellect and imagination to the question of what it is like to be white in this country, and what it is like, for all Americans, to live under the conditions of white supremacy …—Kathryn Schulz
Kathryn SchulzExamples of white supremacy in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The historical claim that Christianity replaced Judaism as a superior faith resulted in laws and language that persecuted Jews—and laid a foundation for white supremacy, too, a new book argues.
—Miri Rubin, The New York Review of Books, 20 Mar. 2025
Ethan Miller/Getty Images Why the U.S. doesn't have a federal domestic terrorism law
Extremism experts have long warned that domestic terrorism, mainly coming from far-right and white supremacy groups, posed a far greater threat than foreign terrorism.
—Jaclyn Diaz, NPR, 20 Mar. 2025
Trump on Friday signed an executive order to cut U.S. aid to South Africa, citing an expropriation act that President Cyril Ramaphosa signed last month aiming to redress land inequalities that stem from South Africa's history of white supremacy.
—Reuters, USA TODAY, 11 Feb. 2025
At a time when white newspaper leaders in the U.S. South helped plan and build the violent political, economic, and social systems of white supremacy that hardened into Jim Crow, Black journalists used their newspapers to document the fight for a multiracial, inclusive democracy.
—Christmaelle Vernet & Kathy Roberts Forde / Made By History, TIME, 28 Feb. 2025
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Miri Rubin, The New York Review of Books, 20 Mar. 2025
Ethan Miller/Getty Images Why the U.S. doesn't have a federal domestic terrorism law
Extremism experts have long warned that domestic terrorism, mainly coming from far-right and white supremacy groups, posed a far greater threat than foreign terrorism.
—Jaclyn Diaz, NPR, 20 Mar. 2025
Trump on Friday signed an executive order to cut U.S. aid to South Africa, citing an expropriation act that President Cyril Ramaphosa signed last month aiming to redress land inequalities that stem from South Africa's history of white supremacy.
—Reuters, USA TODAY, 11 Feb. 2025
At a time when white newspaper leaders in the U.S. South helped plan and build the violent political, economic, and social systems of white supremacy that hardened into Jim Crow, Black journalists used their newspapers to document the fight for a multiracial, inclusive democracy.
—Christmaelle Vernet & Kathy Roberts Forde / Made By History, TIME, 28 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for white supremacy
Cite this Entry
“White supremacy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/white%20supremacy. Accessed 30 Mar. 2025.
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