apartheid

[ uh-pahrt-hahyt, -heyt, uh-pahr-tahyt, -teyt ]
/ əˈpɑrt haɪt, -heɪt, əˈpɑr taɪt, -teɪt /

noun

(in the Republic of South Africa) a rigid former policy of segregating and economically and politically oppressing the nonwhite population.
any system or practice that separates people according to color, ethnicity, caste, etc.

Origin of apartheid

1945–50; < Afrikaans, equivalent to apart apart + -heid -hood

OTHER WORDS FROM apartheid

an·ti·a·part·heid, noun, adjective

Example sentences from the Web for apartheid

British Dictionary definitions for apartheid

apartheid
/ (əˈpɑːthaɪt, -heɪt) /

noun

(in South Africa) the official government policy of racial segregation; officially renounced in 1992

Word Origin for apartheid

C20: Afrikaans, from apart apart + -heid -hood

Cultural definitions for apartheid

apartheid
[ (uh-pahr-teyet, uh-pahr-tayt) ]

The racist policy (see racism) of South Africa that long denied blacks and other nonwhites civic, social, and economic equality with whites. It was dismantled during the 1990s. (See Nelson Mandela.)