rainbow nation

British

noun

an epithet, alluding to its multiracial population, of South Africa

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of rainbow nation

C20: coined by Nelson _Mandela following the end of apartheid

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.

While rebranding America as a “rainbow” nation, he proved that African-Americans—a term he popularized—could be presidential candidates.

From The Wall Street Journal

He has criticised Jamaat for using religious sentiment to win votes, and is promising economic and democratic reforms, as well as a "rainbow nation", where a new "National Reconciliation Commission" would help the country move past its divisions.

From BBC

Many South Africans viewed the mixed-race celebrity couple as a symbol of the "rainbow nation", where racial tensions are still raw 30 years after the end of apartheid.

From BBC

It’s the diversity that Nelson Mandela, South Africa’s first Black president, highlighted as a beautiful thing by referring to his country as a “Rainbow Nation.”

From Seattle Times

Mandela referred to South Africa as a “Rainbow Nation” as he attempted to harness that diversity into a new unity after apartheid.

From Seattle Times

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023