Xenophobic

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /ˌzɛn.əˈfəʊ.bɪk/

Definitions

Having or showing a dislike or prejudice against people from other countries or cultures
Characterized by fear, hatred, or prejudice directed toward people or things perceived as foreign or from outside one's own group | marked by hostility rooted in distrust of the unfamiliar
Defined by a strong aversion to or fear of individuals from different nations or cultures | Describing attitudes that reflect hostility or discrimination against foreign people or elements perceived as alien | Marked by an intense bias against those considered outsiders, particularly in relation to their nationality or cultural background

Etymology: The adjective "xenophobic" is a modern coinage assembled from two Greek roots and the English suffix "-ic". The first element, "xeno-", derives from the ancient Greek word "xenos" (ξένος), which originally meant "guest" or "stranger" — a person from outside one's own community. In classical Greek, this term carried a complex social weight, as the concept of hospitality to strangers (xenia) was a valued cultural practice, yet the stranger remained fundamentally "other". The second element, "phobic", comes from "phobos" (φόβος), the Greek word for "fear" or "dread", which entered English via the suffix "-phobia" in the late 18th century. The "-ic" suffix is a standard English adjectival ending borrowed from Latin and French, used to form adjectives from nouns. The compound "xenophobia" itself appears to be a 19th-century formation, though the exact date of its first coinage is uncertain. It emerged as scientific and intellectual discourse increasingly drew on Greek roots to name psychological conditions and social phenomena. By the early 20th century, "xenophobic" (the adjectival form) was in use to describe attitudes of fear, hatred, or prejudice directed toward foreigners or people perceived as foreign. The semantic shift from the literal Greek roots — a stranger + fear — to the modern meaning of systemic prejudice against outsiders reflects how the word crystallized around a particular kind of social anxiety and discrimination. The word gained significant currency in the mid-to-late 20th century, particularly in academic, political, and journalistic contexts discussing nationalism, immigration, and intergroup relations. Unlike many Greek-derived psychological terms that name individual phobias (claustrophobia, agoraphobia), "xenophobia" and "xenophobic" came to denote not merely an individual fear but a cultural or political stance — making it a term of social and historical analysis rather than clinical psychology. This semantic broadening reflects how the word was adopted to describe collective attitudes and institutional practices, not just personal anxieties.

Synonyms: bigoted, intolerant, racist, prejudiced, narrow-minded

Antonyms: tolerant, open-minded, accepting, welcoming, inclusive