Inequalist

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A person who believes in or advocates for unequal treatment or distribution of resources or rights among people; someone who supports inequality in social, economic, or political contexts; an individual favoring disparity or imbalance between groups
2. An advocate of social or political arrangements that favor unequal status; one who promotes or endorses disparities in power, wealth, or rights; a proponent of systems that maintain or create inequality
3. Someone who holds the view that fairness does not require equal sharing or treatment; an individual favoring preferential or discriminatory distinctions among individuals or groups; a supporter of hierarchical or uneven allocation of advantages or burdens

Etymology: "Inequalist" is formed in English from "inequal," itself a borrowing of Latin "inaequalis," meaning "unequal," from "in-" ("not") and "aequalis" ("equal," from "aequus," "level" or "even"). The "-ist" ending, from Greek "-istes" via Latin and French, marks a person who holds or practices a doctrine, as in "egalitarian" or "socialist." Since "inequal" is itself rare in modern English, the noun is a straightforward coinage built from transparent parts rather than a word with a famous inventor or a dramatic shift in meaning. The word's sense is also plain from its construction: it names a person committed to uneven distribution as a principle, the opposite of an egalitarian. Its etymology is therefore mainly a matter of the parts above, and the exact date of its first recorded use is uncertain, so it is best understood as a relatively recent formation in the same pattern as other "-ist" nouns for adherents of a view.

Synonyms: inequality advocate, elitist

Antonyms: egalitarian