What does xenophobe mean?
A xenophobe is a person who expresses hatred, fear, or strong hostility toward people from other countries or toward foreign cultures. The word is almost always evaluative: it identifies conduct or attitudes understood as exclusionary and intolerant, not merely a preference for one's own language or customs. A xenophobe may reject immigrants, disparage other nationalities, or treat foreign cultures as inferior, though the term does not by itself specify any one political ideology or action. It is distinct from “xenophile,” a person who is unusually enthusiastic about other cultures, and from “xenophobia,” the hostility or fear itself rather than the person displaying it. In public and academic discussion, “xenophobe” is especially associated with racism, nationalism, antisemitism, and anti-immigrant rhetoric, while in ordinary speech it may more broadly label someone who appears unwelcoming toward outsiders. Because its force depends partly on context, writers generally use it when describing explicit hostility rather than inferring xenophobia from a single unfamiliar preference. The word remains useful because it gives a direct name to a person whose attitudes toward foreigners cross from difference into hostility.
nounA person who expresses hatred or strong hostility toward people from other countries or cultures, or who regards foreign cultures as inferior.
- A person who hates or displays strong hostility toward foreigners, immigrants, or foreign cultures.
"The politician was widely condemned as a xenophobe after calling for an end to immigration."
"Several commenters described the extremist group as a haven for committed xenophobes."
"She explained how language about immigration could portray immigrants as xenophobes and threaten the communities they came from."
The regular plural is used when referring to multiple people characterized as hostile toward foreigners or foreign cultures.
"The documentary portrays xenophobes who spread fear through online propaganda."
Literally, a xenophobe is “one who fears strangers,” a compact Greek-derived warning about hostility toward those who seem different.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of xenophobe
Xenophobe combines the Greek xenos, meaning “stranger,” “foreigner,” or “guest,” with the combining form -phobe, ultimately derived from Greek phobein, “to fear.” The English word emerged during the 19th century to name a person hostile toward foreigners, and it belongs to a family that includes xenophobia, xenophobic, xenophoby, and the contrasting xenophile.
Related word forms
How xenophobe is actually used
The term is strongly derogatory and is used in both formal and general contexts. It is a count noun and normally carries an accusation of prejudice, hatred, or systematic hostility rather than describing a mildly unfavorable opinion about another country.
Easily confused with xenophobe
A xenophobe is hostile toward foreign peoples or cultures, whereas a xenophile is unusually enthusiastic or appreciative of them.