activism
noun
Simple meaning
A policy of taking direct action to achieve a political or social goal.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
aktihvihzuhmSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈæktɪvɪzəm
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
A policy of taking direct action to achieve a political or social goal
The practice of using action to achieve a result, such as political demonstration or a strike in support of or in opposition to an issue.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B1 · Intermediate (estimated)
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- General and technical use
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
This meaning: A policy of taking direct action to achieve a political or social goal
Activism means working to bring about social or political change, often through public actions like protests or campaigning. It implies dedication and often a strong belief in a cause.
- Emotional tone
- Positive
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Gentle
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Successful and accomplished
- Usage feel
- Precise and approving
Where you'll really hear it
News reports
“Student activism played a key role in raising awareness.”
Academic writing
“Her research explores the history of environmental activism.”
Where it naturally appears
- Government/politics
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use activism
- “Her activism for environmental causes is truly inspiring.”
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
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Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Word family
Words built from the same root.
A militant reformer.
Any specific behavior.
Stimulation of activity in an organism or chemical.
In an active manner.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
An interpretation of the U.S. constitution holding that the spirit of the times and the needs of the nation can legitimately influence judicial decisions (particularly decisions of the…
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What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.