xenophobia

Definition of xenophobianext
as in nativism
fear or hatred of strangers or foreigners

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Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of xenophobia Tuchel’s approach might, at least, be grimly appropriate for a tournament whose organizers would surely like everyone to focus on the action, and ignore the stench of corruption and xenophobia in the air. Jon Allsop, New Yorker, 18 June 2026 But all of them are now under threat — not just in Johannesburg but across the country, from Durban to Cape Town — as South Africa is engulfed by a rising tide of xenophobia. Kate Bartlett, NPR, 25 June 2026 Torres lamented that the nation’s landmark semiquincentennial comes amid a fever pitch of anti-immigrant sentiment in the United States, marked by a rise in xenophobia and an onslaught of attempts to restrict newcomers here and abroad. Angie Leventis Lourgos, Chicago Tribune, 28 June 2026 Removing all possibility that the president’s xenophobia is nonracial, the administration has implemented what is effectively a whites-only refugee policy that accepts solely South Africans of European descent. Adam Serwer, The Atlantic, 27 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for xenophobia
Recent Examples of Synonyms for xenophobia
Noun
  • The party’s rhetoric, which includes nativism and calling to move on from the shadow of the Holocaust, has ignited allegations of antisemitism from leading Jewish voices in Germany, even as the party and its defenders say its policies are ideal to keep Jews safe.
    Toby Axelrod, Sun Sentinel, 22 June 2026
  • Perhaps the cleanest rebuke of noisy nativism would be for England to win, and, if Tuchel can take that final step that eluded Southgate, he’ll be immortalized, too—perhaps in a prestige miniseries of his own, and a more straightforwardly triumphal one at that.
    Jon Allsop, New Yorker, 18 June 2026
Noun
  • The young Forster recoiled from the school’s culture of authoritarianism and militaristic chauvinism, which may have found expression in the students’ often appalling attitudes toward their own mothers.
    Jessica Winter, New Yorker, 7 May 2026
  • Her stories are well-told, relevant and often searing, detailing an elementary-school teacher’s slight, a hometown swimming-pool reckoning and chauvinism from an Ivy League club.
    Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 30 Jan. 2026
Noun
  • This was an era of over-the-top displays of patriotism and even jingoism; the phrase Let’s make America great again was in.
    Jonathan Lemire, The Atlantic, 9 Apr. 2026
  • Tapping into national pride — dare say jingoism — might have done the trick.
    Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 17 Feb. 2026

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“Xenophobia.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/xenophobia. Accessed 8 Jul. 2026.

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