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discrimination

Definition of Discrimination

(noun) The unequal treatment of an individual or group on the basis of their statuses (e.g., age, beliefs, ethnicity, sex) by limiting access to social resources (e.g., education, housing, jobs, legal rights, loans, or political power).

Types of Discrimination

Discrimination Pronunciation

Pronunciation Usage Guide

Syllabification: dis·crim·i·na·tion

Audio Pronunciation

– American English
– British English

Phonetic Spelling

  • American English – /di-skrim-uh-nAY-shuhn/
  • British English – /dis-krim-i-nAY-shuhn/

International Phonetic Alphabet

  • American English – /dᵻˌskrɪməˈneɪʃən/
  • British English – /dᵻˌskrɪmᵻˈneɪʃn/

Usage Notes

  • Plural: discriminations
  • Discrimination occurs at both individual and institutional levels.
  • Discrimination is often divided into de facto discrimination and de jure discrimination. De facto (Latin for “concerning fact”) discrimination describes covert social practices, such as avoidance, while de jure (Latin for “concerning law” or “in law”) discrimination describes overt discrimination, such as women not being allowed to vote or minorities not serving on juries.
  • Not to be confused with prejudice.
  • A (noun) discriminator (verb) discriminates (adverb) discriminatorally in a (adjective) discriminational or (adjective) discriminatory or (adjective) discriminative manner.

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References

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Marger, Martin. 1985. Race and Ethnic Relations: American and Global Perspectives. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Schaefer, Richard. 2013. Sociology: A Brief Introduction. 10th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.

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Cite the Definition of Discrimination

ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)

Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “discrimination.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved March 19, 2024 (https://sociologydictionary.org/discrimination/).

APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)

discrimination. (2013). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/discrimination/

Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)

Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “discrimination.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed March 19, 2024. https://sociologydictionary.org/discrimination/.

MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)

“discrimination.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2013. Web. 19 Mar. 2024. <https://sociologydictionary.org/discrimination/>.