affirmative action
Americannoun
noun
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Affirmative action has been extremely controversial. Supporters maintain that it is the only way to overcome the effects of past discrimination and promote integration. Critics dismiss it as “reverse discrimination,” denying opportunities to qualified whites and men. (See Bakke decision).
Other Word Forms
- affirmative-action adjective
Etymology
Origin of affirmative action
First recorded in 1960–65
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
With this understanding of federal primacy in foreign affairs, the Supreme Court has pre-empted state laws even in the absence of any affirmative actions by the president or Congress.
“He needed to focus his energy on the civil rights initiative, and affirmative action was a much bigger deal,” said Haru.
From Los Angeles Times
The judge said the Supreme Court ruling on affirmative action “certainly does not proscribe any particular classroom speech, or relate at all to curricular choices.”
From Los Angeles Times
One is a laminated La Opinión story about him trying to recruit more Latino students to Berkeley after affirmative action ended.
From Los Angeles Times
An Associated Press analysis finds that the number of Black students enrolling at many elite colleges has dropped in the two years since the Supreme Court banned affirmative action in admissions.
From Los Angeles Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
