What does racially mean?
Racially is an adverb meaning in relation to race or racial identity. It is used to describe how a person, action, policy, institution, experience, or outcome is connected with race, often especially where racial distinction, inequality, prejudice, or representation is being discussed. For example, a policy may be described as racially discriminatory, an incident as racially motivated, or a community as racially diverse. The word is common in formal reporting, academic writing, public debate, and discussions of law, education, employment, and social institutions. In contemporary English, it frequently appears in conversations about systemic inequality, although its use does not automatically endorse a political interpretation. Racially should be distinguished from the adjective racial and the noun racism. It is a relatively recent English formation, produced by adding the adverbial suffix -ly to racial, itself derived from race.
adverbIn a way that relates to race or racial identity, distinction, inequality, or treatment. It can describe how policies, institutions, attitudes, or experiences are shaped by race.
- In relation to race; concerning racial identity, distinction, inequality, treatment, or experience.
"The committee examined whether the policy was racially discriminatory."
"The report described the incident as racially motivated."
"The organization works to reduce racial inequality in education and employment."
Racially is a reminder that race can shape not only how people are treated, but also the questions institutions choose to ask.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does racially come from?
Racially is an English adverb formed by adding the suffix -ly to the adjective racial. Racial was formed from race with the suffix -al, while the related forms racism and racist use the same historical base. The terminology developed within the modern history of English as discussion of racial classifications, identity, and discrimination became increasingly prominent in the 19th and 20th centuries. The precise history of race itself is complex, so the clearest etymological relationship is the English formation racial plus -ly.
How racially is actually used
Common in formal, analytical, and public-policy contexts. In contemporary discussion, it often signals attention to racial inequality or discrimination; its presence does not by itself indicate whether the speaker regards a practice as fair or unfair.
Easily confused with racially
“Racial” is an adjective describing something connected with race, while “racially” is an adverb describing an action, condition, or result as connected with race.
“Racist” describes a person, belief, attitude, or behavior that is discriminatory on the basis of race, while “racially” describes something in relation to race without itself necessarily expressing a discriminatory attitude.