egalitarian
ih-gal-ih-TAIR-ee-un
/ɪˌɡæl.ɪˈteər.i.ən/
Relating to or believing in the principle that all people are equal and deserve equal rights and opportunities.
Implies an active stance or systematic commitment to fairness and equal status across gender, class, or racial lines.
The story behind the word. From the French 'égalitaire', derived from 'égal' (equal), stemming from Latin 'aequalis'. It gained major political prominence during and after the French Revolution under the slogan 'Liberté, égalité, fraternité'.
Word relationships
- equalitarian: Equalitarian is an older, less common synonym.
- democratic: Democratic relates to governance by vote, while egalitarian focuses on broad socio-economic equality.
- hierarchical: Organized into ranked levels of authority and privilege.
- elitist: Believing that system leadership should belong solely to a select elite.
Commonly confused with
- humanitarian: Humanitarian focuses on relief of human suffering; egalitarian focuses on equal rights and distribution of power.
Word family
- egalitarianism (noun): The belief in human equality.
Collocations
- egalitarian ethos
- egalitarian ideals
- egalitarian policy
Example sentences
- "The reformers envisioned an egalitarian society where educational resources were distributed strictly on the basis of need." Political philosophy
Memory hook
EGAL Sounds like EQUAL: Egalitarian = Equal rights for everyone. Egal = Equal.
When not to use
Do not confuse with 'identical'; egalitarianism seeks equality of worth, rights, or opportunity, not uniform sameness.
Fun facts
- The term was frequently used as a pejorative in 18th-century Europe by royalists who feared radical levelling of social classes.
Related words
Explore more words
Equality, equitable, distributive, peer, inclusivity, inclusive
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