Word Confusion: Bigotry vs Prejudice vs Racism

Posted January 1, 2018 by Kathy Davie in Author Resources, Self-Editing, Word Confusions, Writing

Revised as of
3 Sept 2022

I warn you . . . my own prejudices will surface in this post . . .

While bigotry, prejudice, and racism are closely related, there are distinctions.

Bigotry is practiced by small-minded people who believe their way is the only way.

Prejudice is practiced by people who form their opinion [and hostility] based on other people’s opinions.

Racism is strictly about the race of a person, their having distinct physical characteristics that set them apart from another “race”.

What I find curious is how many whites are racists, but they don’t recognize color when it comes to sports or music . . .

Word Confusions . . .

. . . started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noire for you from either end.

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Bigotry Prejudice Racism
Church sign proclaiming its bigotry

Muslims Demand “Bigoted” Church Sign Removal, Pastor Has Perfect Reply authored by Dom the Conservative and courtesy of Mad World News.com, 15 May 2016.


Two gay men with their backs to us are holding hands

Holding Hands by Пославский is under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons.

So many people are prejudiced against a love they don’t understand.


Three members of the Ku Klux Klan at night

Parade of the Klu Klux Klan through Northern Virginia, 18 March 1922, by pingnews.com, under the Public Domain Mark 1.0 license, via Flickr.

The Ku Klux Klan is all about racism.

Part of Grammar:
Noun

Plural: bigotries

Noun 1 and 2; Verb, transitive 1

Plural for the noun and third person present verb: prejudices
Past tense or past participle: prejudiced
Gerund or present participle: prejudicing

Noun

Plural: racism

Intolerant, narrow-minded, small-minded


Intolerance toward those who hold different opinions from oneself

The actions, beliefs, prejudices, etc., of a bigot

Has no actual experience with the issue/people


Noun:
Preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or actual experience 1

  • Dislike, hostility, or unjust behavior deriving from unfounded opinions

[Chiefly Law] Harm or injury that results or may result from some action or judgment 2

Verb, transitive:
Give rise to prejudice in someone 1

  • Make biased

[Chiefly Law] Cause harm to (a state of affairs)

Prejudging


Prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on the belief that one’s own race is superior

  • The belief that all members of each race possess characteristics or abilities specific to that race, especially so as to distinguish it as inferior or superior to another race or races

Hatred or intolerance of another race or other races

  • Abusive or aggressive behavior towards members of another race on the basis of such a belief

A policy, system of government, etc., based upon or fostering such a doctrine

  • Discrimination
Examples:
There are a ton of difficulties in combating prejudice and bigotry.

“It needs to be said: bigotry in the name of religion is still bigotry; child abuse wrapped in a Bible verse is still child abuse” (Molloy).

“No more allowing people to justify their bigotry by spouting a cherry-picked Bible verse” (Molloy).

“Regarding Muslims, we have clearly seen in recent times an uptick in anti—Muslim bigotry” (Obeidallah).

“But infidelity and bigotry are frequently next-door neighbors” (Goldsmith).

“When the schoolteacher’s turn shall come, then let tyranny and bigotry beware” (Ballou).

“True, bigotry barked there too, but culture went on its serene course” (Zangwill).

“There’s a thousand years of prejudice and bigotry concentrated in you” (Service).

Aborigines are the main victims of racism in Australia.

Noun:
There is a grave English prejudice against foreigners.

They harbor such ingrained religious prejudices.

Accusations of racial prejudice were hurled.

Prejudice could result in a delay in the institution of the proceedings.

The payment was made without any prejudice to her rights.

Verb, transitive:
That statement might prejudice the jury.

Delay is likely to prejudice the child’s welfare.

The government believes we need a program to combat racism.

There are some disgusting theories on racism.

“Cosby conspiracy theorists share a perspective born of a long, pained history of American racism” (Williams).

“One blames black Americans as a race; the other, racism as a social structure” (Poulos).

“The rule of law, you see, buckles, bends and sometimes crumbles under the weight of racism, sexism, and classism” (Taylor).

Derivatives:
Adjective: bigoted
Noun: bigot, bigotism
Adjective: prejudiceless, prejudicial, nonprejudiced, prejudicedly, quasi-prejudiced
Adverb: prejudicedly
Adjective: racist, racialist
Noun: antiracism, race, racist, racialist,
History of the Word:
Late 17th century, from bigot and reinforced by the French bigoterie.
  1. C. 1300, in the sense of despite, contempt, from the Old French prejudice meaning prejudice, damage, from the Medieval Latin prejudicium meaning injustice, which is from the Latin praeiudicium meaning prior judgment, which is from the prae- meaning before (pre-) + iudicium (judgment), which is from iudex (genitive iudicis) meaning a judge.
  2. Middle English from the Old French, which is from the Latin praejudicium, which is from prae (in advance) + judicium (judgement).
1865-70, from the French word racisme.

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C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!

Satisfy your curiosity about other Word Confusions on its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Book Layout & Formatting Ideas, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.

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Resources for Bigotry vs Prejudice vs Racism

If you purchase a product through an affiliate link, I receive a small commission, which has no effect on the price you pay.

Apple Dictionary.com

Ballou, Maturin M. Aztec Land. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1890. <https://amzn.to/3KIVRfQ>.

Dictionary.com: racism

Goldsmith, Lewis. “Memoirs of the Court of St. Cloud, Complete: Being Secret Letters from a Gentleman at Paris to a Nobleman in London. vol. 5. <https://amzn.to/3AOV1ty>.

Molloy, Parker. “Dear Leelah, We Will Fight On For You: A Letter to a Dead Trans Teen.” The Daily Beast. 1 Jan 2015. Web. n.d. <https://www.thedailybeast.com/dear-leelah-we-will-fight-on-for-you-a-letter-to-a-dead-trans-teen?source=dictionary>.

Obeidallah, Dean. “Muslims & Jews Unite vs. Abercrombie & Fitch.” The Daily Beast. 16 Dec 2014. Web. n.d. <https://www.thedailybeast.com/muslims-and-jews-unite-vs-abercrombie-and-fitch?source=dictionary>.

Poulos, James. “No Gods, No Cops, No Masters.” The Daily Beast. 1 Jan 2015. Web. n.d. <https://www.thedailybeast.com/no-gods-no-cops-no-masters?source=dictionary>.

Service, Robert W. The Trail of Ninety-Eight. ISBN-13: ‎ 978-1985231283. <https://amzn.to/3RBEYWA>.

Taylor, Goldie. “What Would Happen if I Got in White Cop’s Face?” The Daily Beast. 30 Dec 2014. Web. n.d. <https://www.thedailybeast.com/goldie-taylorwhat-would-happen-if-i-got-in-white-cops-face?source=dictionary>.

Williams, Stereo. “Phylicia Rashad and the Cult of Cosby Truthers.” The Daily Beast. 8 Jan 2015. Web. n.d. <https://www.thedailybeast.com/phylicia-rashad-and-the-cult-of-cosby-truthers?source=dictionary>.

Zangwill, I. Dreamers of the Ghetto. 2011. ISBN: 1505506662. <https://amzn.to/3Qj0oXs>.

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Pinterest Photo Credits:

NYC Pro-Muslim Rally Marching On Sept. 11th, 2010, <https://visualhunt.com/f2/photo/104008412/85a5fb934c/>, by Viktor Nagornyy, <https://visualhunt.com/author/a22167>, and Negro League, <https://visualhunt.com/f2/photo/104008412/85a5fb934c/>, by dbking, <https://visualhunt.com/author/3183c3>, are both under the CC BY 2.0 license and via VisualHunt.

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