chauvinism

chauvinism Definition

chau·vin·ism (s̸hō′və niz′əm)

noun

militant, unreasoning, and boastful devotion to one's country; jingoism
unreasoning devotion to one's race, sex, etc. with contempt for other races, the opposite sex, etc.

Etymology: Fr chauvinisme, after N. Chauvin, soldier of Napoleon I, notorious for his attachment to the lost imperial cause

chauvinism Related Forms

chau′·vin·ist noun, adjective chau′·vin·is′·tic adjective chau′·vin·is′·ti·cally adverb

chauvinism Synonyms

Fanatical patriotism
jingoism, superpatriotism, ultranationalism, hawkishness; see aggression 2, jingoism, patriotism.
Unreasoning devotion to one's sex, race, etc.
male chauvinism, female chauvinism, prejudice, ethnocentricity; see intolerance 2, prejudice.

chauvinism Usage Examples

Converse of object

promote: It promotes chauvinism in Russia while it kills large numbers of Chechens and ruins their country.
fight: Art has very real responsibilities, perhaps even to fight male chauvinism, ethnic prejudice, third-world exploitation, believe the politically correct.

Adjective modifier

Russian: In the Ukraine the Whites were crippled from the start by their Great Russian chauvinism.
male: It seems to be a classic case of male chauvinism.
cultural: Cultural chauvinism must not prevent Turkey from joining the EU, should it successfully reform its human rights record.
national: Today, with the empire long dismantled, a rearticulated national chauvinism is a much more useful weapon.
white: Bunting rebutted the charges of ' white chauvinism ' spread by his factional opponent La Guma point by point.
social: Beside which, to make a call to bring our boys home is one of the worst forms of social chauvinism.

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