elitist C1 Topic:People & Society US /eɪˈliːtɪst/ UK /ɪˈliːtɪst/ See IPA manual Freq #31898 Meanings 1 adj Believing that a small group of privileged people should have the most power or be treated as the best. Critics called the new policy elitist and unfair to ordinary people. 2 noun A person who believes a small privileged group should rule or be considered superior. He was dismissed as an elitist who looked down on working people. Thesaurus Word family Forms elitists Etymology AI details From elite + -ist. Topics People & Society Word Formation & Derivatives External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # elitist **Type:** Word **Level:** C1 **Part of speech:** adj, noun **IPA (US):** /eɪˈliːtɪst/ **IPA (UK):** /ɪˈliːtɪst/ **Frequency rank:** 31898 ## Meanings 1. Believing that a small group of privileged people should have the most power or be treated as the best. 2. A person who believes a small privileged group should rule or be considered superior. ## Examples - Critics called the new policy elitist and unfair to ordinary people. - He was dismissed as an elitist who looked down on working people. ## Etymology From elite + -ist. ## AI Etymology Elitist is from elite + -ist. The analysis is mainly morphological: the modern adjectival form is built from the named base and affix. In present-day use, it can mean believing that a small group of privileged people should have the most power or be treated as the best, or a person who believes a small privileged group should rule or be considered superior. ## Topics - People & Society - Word Formation & Derivatives markdown