microaggression
/ˌmaɪ.kroʊ.əˈɡrɛ.ʃən/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: 1.54 in modern English
21
Scrabble Score
15
Letters
4
Syllables
10
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
Any small-scale verbal or physical interaction between those of different races, cultures, beliefs, or genders that may have no malicious intent, but that can be interpreted as an aggression.
American usage; Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "Near-synonyms: microassault, microinequity, microinsult, microinvalidation, nanoaggression"
- "At McGill, someone has established a McGill Microaggressions website inviting students and staff to report instances of “sexism, heteropatriarchy, transphobia, classism, racism [and] ableism.”"
- "Two terms have risen quickly from obscurity into common campus parlance. Microaggressions are small actions or word choices that seem on their face to have no malicious intent but that are thought of as a kind of violence nonetheless. For example, by some campus guidelines, it is a microaggression to ask an Asian American or Latino American “Where were you born?,” because this implies that he or she is not a real American."
- "For many of us, microaggressions are so commonplace that it seems impossible to tackle them one at a time. Psychologists often compare them to death by a thousand cuts. The metaphor is both the subtitle to a paper that Kevin Nadal, professor of psychology at John Jay College, wrote about the impact of microaggressions on L.G.B.T.Q. youth, and the title of another paper on the health implications of black respectability politics by Hedwig Lee, professor of sociology at Washington University in St. Louis, and Margaret Takako Hicken, research assistant professor at the University of Michigan."
- "Ask whether microaggressions merit the same response as physical assault and the Elect do not receive this as a challenging query."
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *mey-der.? Ancient Greek μῑκρός (mīkrós) Ancient Greek μῑκρο- (mīkro-)lbor. English micro- Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd Proto-Italic *ad Proto-Italic *ad- Latin ad- Proto-Indo-European *gʰredʰ-der. Latin gradior Latin aggredior Proto-Indo-European *-tis Proto-Indo-European *-Hō Proto-Indo-European *-tiHō Proto-Italic *-tiō Latin -tiō Latin aggressiōder. Middle French aggressionbor. English aggression English microaggression From micro- + aggression, coined by American psychiatrist Chester M. Pierce in 1970.
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˌmaɪ.kroʊ.əˈɡrɛ.ʃən/
- British English: /ˌmaɪ.krəʊ.əˈɡrɛ.ʃən/
Usage
- American usage
- Countable
- Uncountable