apartheid
gb/əpˈɑɹtˌaɪd/ us/əpˈɑɹtˌaɪd/
C1
English
~ 9500
apartheid, szegregáció
NOUN
C1
FORMAL
1
apartheid
C1
Usage pattern:
[government] practises apartheid in [place]
International pressure was a major factor in bringing an end to apartheid in South Africa.
A nemzetközi nyomás fontos tényező volt abban, hogy véget érjen az apartheid Dél-Afrikában.
Many people around the world joined campaigns to boycott companies that supported the apartheid regime.
Világszerte sokan csatlakoztak azokhoz a kampányokhoz, amelyek az apartheid rendszert támogató vállalatok bojkottjára szólítottak fel.
Under apartheid, Black South Africans were forced to live in separate areas and denied basic political rights.
The museum documents the daily realities of life during apartheid.
He wrote his thesis on the legal foundations of apartheid and how they were dismantled.
Learner examples
Apartheid kept white and Black people apart by law in South Africa.
Az apartheid törvényileg különítette el a fehér és a fekete embereket Dél-Afrikában.
Under apartheid, Black people could not vote in national elections.
Az apartheid idején a fekete emberek nem szavazhattak az országos választásokon.
The new government ended apartheid in the early 1990s.
Many countries spoke against apartheid at the United Nations.
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes think 'apartheid' can be used as a verb (e.g., *to apartheid people*). It is only a noun; use verbs like 'to enforce apartheid' or 'to practise apartheid' instead. Another confusion is treating it as countable; in most uses it is uncountable ("under apartheid", not *"under an apartheid").
Meaning
system of enforced racial separation
Collocations
racial apartheid
|apartheid regime
|system of apartheid
|end apartheid
|under apartheid
|apartheid-era laws
Synonyms
racial segregation (Stresses physical and social separation of races, but does not always imply the same broad, formal state policy as 'apartheid'.)
|
institutionalized racism (Focuses on racism built into laws and institutions; slightly broader and less tied to a specific historical system than 'apartheid'.)
Antonyms
racial integration (Highlights the opposite social goal: different races living, working, and studying together without legal separation.)
|
desegregation (Refers to the process of ending legally enforced separation of races, which is the undoing of apartheid-like systems.)
Themes
politics
|society
|history
|rights
|law
|relationships
Definition
A system where the law keeps races separate and gives more power and rights to one race, especially in South Africa in the past.
A system in which a government legally enforces the separation and unequal treatment of people based on race, most notably the policy followed in South Africa from 1948 to the early 1990s.
NOUN
C1
FORMAL
2
szegregáció
C1
apartheid
C1
Usage pattern:
[people] describe [situation] as apartheid between [groups]
Critics describe the strict dress and movement rules for women as a form of gender apartheid.
A bírálók a nőkre vonatkozó szigorú öltözködési és mozgási szabályokat a nemi apartheid egyik formájaként írják le.
Some activists argue that the division between rich gated communities and poor townships amounts to economic apartheid.
Egyes aktivisták szerint a gazdagok zárt lakóparkjai és a szegény településrészek közötti megosztottság már-már gazdasági apartheidnek számít.
Human rights groups warned that new laws risk creating an educational apartheid between urban and rural children.
She used the term 'digital apartheid' to talk about how many people in poor areas still lack internet access.
Campaigners say that separating refugees from the rest of society produces a kind of social apartheid.
Learner examples
Many people call the strict rules on women a kind of gender apartheid.
Sokan a nőkre vonatkozó szigorú szabályokat egyfajta nemi apartheidnek nevezik.
There is economic apartheid when poor people and rich people live in very different worlds.
Gazdasági apartheidről beszélhetünk, amikor a szegények és a gazdagok nagyon külön világban élnek.
Some cities have social apartheid between the center and the outer areas.
The report says there is an apartheid between people with internet and people without it.
Common mistake:
Learners may think 'apartheid' can only be used about South Africa. In modern English, it is often used more broadly with modifiers like 'gender apartheid' or 'economic apartheid' to describe strong separation and inequality between groups.
Meaning
any enforced social separation system
Collocations
gender apartheid
|social apartheid
|economic apartheid
|education apartheid
|digital apartheid
|apartheid between rich and poor
Synonyms
segregation (A more general word for keeping groups separate; it may be less strong or less clearly about deep inequality than 'apartheid'.)
|
systemic discrimination (Focuses on unfair treatment built into systems and institutions, without necessarily implying physical separation.)
Antonyms
inclusion (Stresses bringing all groups into the same spaces and opportunities, which contrasts with the separation and exclusion of apartheid.)
|
equality (Highlights equal treatment and status of different groups, the opposite of the unequal structure in an apartheid system.)
Themes
society
|politics
|rights
|law
|relationships
Definition
A system where one group is kept apart from another group and treated much worse, for example by gender, class, or religion, not only by race.
A situation or system in which one social group is kept separate from and treated as inferior to another group, often by social rules or unofficial practices, sometimes extended metaphorically from racial apartheid.
Grammar
Dictionary form
apartheid
IPA
GB/əpˈɑɹtˌaɪd/
US/əpˈɑɹtˌaɪd/
Syllables & stress
apartheid (1 syllable)
Word forms
Noun
- Base: apartheid
- Plural: apartheids
Word family
Forms
apartheids
noun
Negative and opposite forms
anti-apartheid
adjective
Related words
post-apartheid
adjective
Expressions
apartheid regime
1/əpˈɑɹtˌaɪd ɹɪʒˈim/
fixed phrase
formal
government that enforces apartheid
A government that uses apartheid as its official system of rule.
Examples
- The apartheid regime faced growing resistance from inside and outside the country.
- Several leaders of the apartheid regime were later put on trial.
end apartheid
1/ˈɛnd əpˈɑɹtˌaɪd/
fixed phrase
formal
to stop an apartheid system
To stop and remove a system of apartheid so it no longer exists.
Examples
- International sanctions helped to end apartheid in South Africa.
- Many young people joined protests to end apartheid.
gender apartheid
1/d͡ʒˈɛndɚ əpˈɑɹtˌaɪd/
fixed phrase
formal
system separating and controlling genders
A very strict system where women and men are kept apart and women are given far fewer rights and freedoms.
Examples
- Activists condemned the new rules as a form of gender apartheid.
- They argue that banning women from education amounts to gender apartheid.
post-apartheid
1/pˈoʊst əpˈɑɹtˌaɪd/
fixed phrase
formal
after an apartheid system ended
Happening or existing after apartheid has finished, especially in South Africa.
Examples
- The book looks at the challenges of building a fair society in post-apartheid South Africa.
- Post-apartheid governments have tried to reduce inequality in education.
under apartheid
1/ˈʌndɚ əpˈɑɹtˌaɪd/
fixed phrase
formal
during a period of apartheid
During a time or in a place where apartheid is the system in power.
Examples
- Under apartheid, people were classified by race at birth.
- Many families were separated under apartheid because of forced removals.