Illiberality

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The quality of being narrow-minded or resistant to change is characterized by a lack of generosity or openness to different ideas and attitudes
2. A mindset that prioritizes rigid adherence to traditional views often manifests through a refusal to embrace diversity in thought or action
3. The state of being unyielding or mean-spirited reflects an inclination towards exclusion and a resistance to embracing broader perspectives or kindness

Etymology: Illiberality is a word that carries its own history inside it, because it is built from "illiberal" with the suffix "-ity," which turns an adjective into a noun for a quality or state. "Illiberal" is itself formed from "il-," the negative prefix, attached to "liberal," so the whole chain runs from the Latin "liber," meaning "free," through a sense of being fit for a free person. A "liberal" once described a person of generous spirit and free-born character, and the meaning of narrow-mindedness grows naturally from its opposite. The source also gives an alternative route: the word may have been formed directly by attaching "il-" to "liberality," the noun for generosity. On that reading, illiberality is the lack of generosity, a meaning still visible in older uses where it referred to meanness with money. The modern sense of intolerance toward others developed from this broader sense of being small-minded or ungenerous in attitude.

Synonyms: narrow-mindedness, bigotry, intolerance, rigidity, narrowness

Antonyms: liberality, open-mindedness, generosity, tolerance, broad-mindedness