The Meaning of Xenophobic: What It Is and How To Use It

Do you know the meaning of xenophobic? This article will provide you with all of the information you need on this new word!

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The word xenophobic is an adjective that refers to a person who has a fear or hatred of foreigners and strangers. This is considered a form of discrimination. Often, xenophobic individuals have a prejudice against religious groups, racist attitudes against people of a different racial identity, and even commit physical abuse against certain groups.

Often, xenophobia is cited as a reason why people vote against helping people like asylum seekers. Xenophobia might cause people to vote for closed borders or to deport immigrants. This is a very controversial topic in much of the world. Some people want their countries to be welcoming to others, while others want their homelands to stay insular.

What Are Translations of the Word Xenophobic?

Although xenophobic refers to a fear of people from other places, there are many world languages that also contain translations for this word. People all over the world can learn about xenophobia or be xenophobic themselves.

If you are trying to discuss the concept of xenophobia with a person who does not speak English, you can take a look at this list of translations of xenophobia. If we all learn how to communicate with each other better, perhaps xenophobia will cease to exist. 

  • Macedonian: ксенофобија‎ (fem.)
  • Turkish: zenofobi‎, yabancı korkusu‎
  • Latvian: ksenofobija‎
  • Afrikaans: xenofobie‎
  • Ukrainian: ксенофобія‎ (fem.)
  • Danish: xenofobi‎
  • Russian: ксенофо́бия‎ (fem.), неприя́знь к иностранцам‎ (fem.), не́нависть к иностранцам‎ (fem.)
  • Icelandic: útlendingahatur‎
  • Hungarian: xenofóbia‎, idegengyűlölet‎
  • Persian: بیگانه‌هراسی‎ (bigâne-harâsi), گزنوفوبی‎ (gzenofobi) (dated)
  • Dutch: xenofobie‎, vreemdelingenhaat‎ (common)
  • Slovak: xenofóbia‎ (fem.)
  • Vietnamese: tinh bài ngoại‎
  • Volapük: foginananeflenäl‎
  • Georgian: ქსენოფობია‎
  • Romanian: xenofobie‎
  • Kazakh: үргедектік‎
  • Italian: xenofobia‎ (fem.)
  • Bokmål: xenofobi‎ (masc.), fremmedfrykt‎ (masc.)
  • Nynorsk: xenofobi‎ (masc.)
  • Spanish: xenofobia‎ (fem.)
  • Karachay-Balkar: ксенофобия‎
  • Korean: 외국인혐오증‎ (oegugin-hyeomojeung)
  • Indonesian: xenofobia‎
  • Swedish: främlingsfientlighet‎
  • Arabic: رُهَاب اَلْأَجَانِب‎ (masc.), كَرْه اَلْأَجَانِب‎ (masc.)
  • Ido: xenofobio‎
  • Serbo-Croatian: ксенофобија‎ (fem.), ksenofobija‎ (fem.)
  • Thai: ความเกลียดกลัวต่างชาติ‎ (kwaam glìat glua dtàang châat)
  • Azeri: ksenofobiya‎
  • Lithuanian: ksenofobija‎ (fem.)
  • Hindi: अज्ञातव्यक्तिभीति‎
  • Basque: xenofobia‎
  • Belarusian: ксенафобія‎ (fem.)
  • German: Fremdenfeindlichkeit‎ (fem.), (scientific) Xenophobie‎ (fem.), Fremdenhass‎ (masc.)
  • Czech: xenofobie‎ (fem.)
  • Finnish: ksenofobia‎
  • Estonian: ksenofoobia‎
  • Polish: ksenofobia‎ (fem.)
  • Asturian: xenofobia‎ (fem.)
  • Armenian: այլատյացություն‎, քսենոֆոբիա‎
  • Esperanto: ksenofobio‎
  • Galician: xenofobia‎ (fem.)
  • Bulgarian: ксенофобия‎ (fem.)
  • French: xénophobie‎
  • Greek: ξενοφοβία‎ (fem.)
  • Portuguese: xenofobia‎ (fem.)
  • Irish: seineafóibe‎ (fem.)
  • Albanian: ksenofobi‎
  • Hebrew: שנאת זרים‎ (sinát zarím)
  • Catalan: xenofòbia‎ (fem.)
  • Slovene: ksenofobija‎ (fem.)

What Is the Etymology of the Word Xenophobic?

The word xenophobic comes from xenophobia, which is the noun form of the term. This word was adapted from the Greek terms xenos and phobos.

Xenos is an Ancient Greek word that means stranger or guest, while phobos means flight or fear. You might hear many other words that end in the suffix -phobia to indicate fear.

How Can the Word Xenophobic Be Used in a Sentence?

The word xenophobic can be used in circumstances when people are discussing those with a fear of strangers, a hatred of immigrants, or a hatred of minority groups. This word is very powerful, so do not accuse someone of being xenophobic if you are not trying to offend them. Learning how to use words comes with a great deal of power, so make sure that you are choosing your words wisely. 

Take a look at these examples of xenophobia and xenophobic below. Then, try to see if you can write your own example sentences for the words xenophobia and use these words in a conversation today!

The xenophobic man tried to justify his racism, xenophobia, and hatred of immigrants by saying he wanted to protect the United States from outsiders.

COVID-19 only increased the amount of xenophobia toward people of East Asian descent in the United States. Hate crimes skyrocketed solely based on a person’s skin color. It was shocking and devastating.

The hostility and xenophobic tendencies of the Nazis led Germany to the Holocaust and World War II. The genocide of Jewish families and other ethnic groups occurred, all because of stereotypes.

Her xenophobic thoughts prevented her from moving to any neighborhood with a wide variety of cultures to limit her exposure to them. This meant that her abnormal fear and hatred of people different from her led her to further remove herself from the real world.

In social sciences, they learned about immigrant xenophobia and cultural xenophobia. The students did not understand the idea that someone would hate people from different countries for no reason.

What Are Synonyms of the Word Xenophobic?

There are many different words that can be used in place of xenophobic. This word can be considered a hot button topic, so sometimes it might be best to opt for a synonym in place of this word. 

Take a look at this list of synonyms for xenophobic from Power Thesaurus and see how many you know:

  • anti-multicultural
  • apartheidlike
  • biased
  • bigoted
  • chauvinist
  • chauvinistic
  • colonial
  • colonised
  • dictatorial
  • discriminating
  • divided
  • ethnic nationalism
  • ethno-nationalistic
  • ethnocentric
  • fascist
  • illiberal
  • imperialist
  • imperialistic
  • insulated
  • intolerant
  • isolated
  • jingo
  • jingoistic
  • monocultural
  • narrow
  • narrow-minded
  • national independent
  • nationalistic
  • nazi
  • neutral
  • opinionated
  • parochial
  • prejudiced
  • racialist
  • racist
  • segregated
  • separate
  • separated
  • small-minded
  • sovereign

What Are Antonyms of the Word Xenophobic?

There are also many different words that have the opposite definition of xenophobic, which are called antonyms. Look at this list of antonyms of xenophobic from Power Thesaurus:

  • bounteous
  • bountiful
  • broad
  • genial
  • happy
  • merciful
  • multicultural
  • open-minded
  • permissive
  • spacious
  • thoughtful
  • unspecific
  • Unsubtle

Conclusion

Overall, the word xenophobic means fearful of strangers or people who are different from them. Often, this is used to refer to a person who is against immigration or fearful of immigrants. Have you ever met a person who is xenophobic?

Sources:

  1. 346 Words and Phrases for Xenophobic | Power Thesaurus 
  2. Xenophobic antonyms – 13 Opposites of Xenophobic | Power Thesaurus 
  3. Xenophobia Definition & Meaning | Dictionary.com