- Today's Word
Egalitarian
ee-gal-ih-TAIR-ee-uhn
Definition
(adjective) Based on or supporting the belief that all people are equal and deserve equal rights and opportunities.
Example
The candidate’s egalitarian policies appealed to a wide range of voters.
Fun Fact
Egalitarian ideas rose to prominence during the Enlightenment, but the term is still used today in conversations about workplace equity, access to education, and systemic reform. It’s often contrasted with hierarchical systems, and used by activists, economists, and political scientists. Whether you’re talking about equal pay or universal voting, egalitarianism is the language of leveling the field.
(adjective) Sedate, respectable, and unadventurous; resistant to change or excitement; marked by settled, even dull, conventionality.
The new curator’s bold acquisitions rattled the museum’s staid board of trustees, who had grown comfortable with decades of cautious, predictable programming.