Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A sociopolitical policy, especially in the United States in the 1800s, favoring the interests of established inhabitants over those of immigrants.
  • noun The reestablishment or perpetuation of native cultural traits, especially in opposition to acculturation.
  • noun Philosophy The doctrine that the mind produces ideas that are not derived from external sources.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun In philosophy, the doctrine of innate ideas; the view that sensation is not the sole source of knowledge, but that the mind possesses ideas or at least forms of thought and perception that are innate. See innate.
  • noun In United States politics, the program of the Native American party (which see, under American).

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun The disposition to favor the native inhabitants of a country, in preference to immigrants from foreign countries.
  • noun (Philos.) The doctrine of innate ideas, or that the mind possesses forms of thought independent of sensation.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun a policy of favoring native-born inhabitants over immigrants
  • noun the policy of perpetuating the culture of the natives of a colonised country
  • noun philosophy the doctrine that some skills or abilities are innate and not learned

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun (philosophy) the philosophical theory that some ideas are innate
  • noun the policy of perpetuating native cultures (in opposition to acculturation)

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

native +‎ -ism

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Examples

  • Mr. Goode's dimwitted outburst of nativism is nothing new.

    December 2006 2006

  • The Post that worries that “Mr. Goode was evidently napping in class the day they taught the traditional American values of tolerance, diversity and religious freedom,” but point out that his “dimwitted outburst of nativism is nothing new.”

    Waldo Jaquith - Goode press coverage round-up. 2006

  • He would not have understood the word nativism, hell I never heard of it until today.

    "BANPC" via James Bow in Google Reader WILLY 2010

  • I think it's a stretch to identify hostility to bilingualism as "nativism" - it's rooted in sound public policy concerns, and in any event, if you'll forgive a detour into the personal, I'm opposed to bilingualism, and it would be awkward for you to be stuck in the position of suggesting an immigrant is a nativist.

    Fred's exit... Ann Althouse 2008

  • That doesn’t mean catering to their ignorant nativism is the right thing to do.

    Matthew Yglesias » Uh-Oh 2007

  • Lincoln focused exclusively on the issue of slavery in new states, ignoring the wedge issues of the day: infrastructure (then called "internal improvements"), immigration (then called nativism), or drugs

    Spero News author unknown 2010

  • Lincoln focused exclusively on the issue of slavery in new states, ignoring the wedge issues of the day: infrastructure (then called "internal improvements"), immigration (then called nativism), or drugs

    Spero News author unknown 2010

  • Also, the notion of nativism implicit in everything you say.

    BobFromBrockley 2009

  • However, warns Brzezinski, this increasing internationalization of elites "could create a dangerous gap between them and the politically activated masses, whose 'nativism' - exploited by more nationalist political leaders - could work against the 'cosmopolitan' elites." [

    GlobalResearch.ca 2010

  • When are the effects of racism and "nativism" going to be dealt with in a way that will unite rather than further divide our society?

    Joel Shatzky: Educating for Democracy: Who's Listening? Joel Shatzky 2010

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