race-baiting

noun

race-bait·​ing ˈrās-ˌbā-tiŋ How to pronounce race-baiting (audio)
often attributive
: the making of verbal attacks against members of a racial group

Examples of race-baiting in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Donald Trump kicked off his first presidential campaign in 2016 by promising to reduce immigration, using language targeting Mexican immigrants that many saw as race-baiting. Lauren Villagran, USA TODAY, 11 Jan. 2024 It’s sometimes overlooked that, in 2016, Trump twinned his race-baiting and attacks on cultural élites with criticisms of C.E.O.s, corporations, and bankers who had shipped abroad American jobs, and of the politicians who had enabled them. John Cassidy, The New Yorker, 24 July 2023 Schrader’s dreary view of America conforms to Biden’s race-baiting games. Armond White, National Review, 24 May 2023 The tweet was posted by an account which frequently traffics racist and race-baiting ideas. Michael Williams, Dallas News, 8 May 2023 His ad hominem insults against regulators and a heroic British Navy diver, as well as his interactions with flamboyant race-baiting figures and other diversions, seem less than smart. Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Fortune, 27 Apr. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'race-baiting.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1961, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of race-baiting was circa 1961

Dictionary Entries Near race-baiting

Cite this Entry

“Race-baiting.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/race-baiting. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

More from Merriam-Webster on race-baiting

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