apartheid

noun

Definition of apartheidnext
as in segregation
a former social system in South Africa in which black people and people from other racial groups did not have the same political and economic rights as white people and were forced to live separately from white people

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for apartheid
  1. segregation
  2. discrimination
Noun
  • Jim Crow segregation, discrimination and systemic racism further depressed the Black population's ability to build wealth that is still largely concentrated among white families.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 24 Oct. 2026
  • American educational history is overflowing with abuse, segregation, substandard structures, and smoldering scorn.
    — Kamau Bobb October 21, Literary Hub, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of segregation
Noun
  • Mamdani's plan calls for expanding Holocaust education, including opportunities for students to visit the Museum of Jewish Heritage, while also addressing how public schools respond to antisemitic discrimination.
    — Ariella Noveck, FOXNews.com, 28 Oct. 2026
  • The Danish Red Stocking movement, or Rødstrømpebevægelsen, was established in 1970 and remained active until the mid-1980s, tying reproductive rights to workplace discrimination.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 27 Oct. 2026
Definition of discrimination
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

apart from
apartheid
apartment
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Apartheid.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/apartheid. Accessed 29 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on apartheid

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about apartheid

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of shindig

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Pwn, Skibidi, Girlboss and Other Words Added to the 2026 Scrabble Dictionary

The Words of the Week - Oct. 30

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All