tribalism

C2+ Topic:Abstract Ideas

US /ˈtraɪbəˌlɪzəm/ UK /ˈtraɪbəlɪzəm/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
loyalty to one's own group or faction, often with hostility to outsiders

Political tribalism made any compromise between the two camps nearly impossible.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · loyalty to one's own group... factionalismsectarianism partisanshipclannishnessparochialism

Opposites

cosmopolitanismuniversalisminclusivity

Word family

Related forms tribe tribal tribalist

Etymology

From tribal (from tribe, via Old French tribu, from Latin tribus 'one of the three divisions of the Roman people') + the suffix -ism.

tribus Latin tri Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Abstract Ideas Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# tribalism

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈtraɪbəˌlɪzəm/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈtraɪbəlɪzəm/

## Meanings
1. loyalty to one's own group or faction, often with hostility to outsiders

## Examples
- Political tribalism made any compromise between the two camps nearly impossible.

## Synonyms
- factionalism
- sectarianism
- partisanship
- clannishness
- parochialism

## Antonyms
- cosmopolitanism
- universalism
- inclusivity

## Related Forms
- tribe
- tribal
- tribalist

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: tribus
- Root: tri

## Etymology
From tribal (from tribe, via Old French tribu, from Latin tribus 'one of the three divisions of the Roman people') + the suffix -ism.

## AI Etymology
Tribalism is from tribal (from tribe, via Old French tribu, from Latin tribus 'one of the three divisions of the Roman people') + the suffix -ism. Important recorded forms include tribus (Latin) and tri (Latin). Morphologically, the word preserves a built structure whose named elements carry the historical sense into English. The modern sense is largely compositional, with the historical elements narrowing into a stable English lexical item. In current use it covers loyalty to one's own group or faction, often with hostility to outsiders. The wider family includes related words such as tribe, tribal, and tribalist.

## Topics
- Abstract Ideas
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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