ethnic slur
3
9.9
- noun
- /ˈɛθnɪk slɜr/
- Offensive
:
insulto étnico
- I am an American Indian who has had the term "savage" used against me as a racial/ethnic slur.
- use ethnic slurs
- make an ethnic slur
- racial and ethnic slurs
Examples
-
Now you are making ethnic slurs and innuendo here too, is that it?
Blog text (9) -
Finally, Nardi charges Freeman with deploying ethnic slurs.
Academic text (1993) -
That was an ethnic slur.
-
"Who?" he says, as if I just made an ethnic slur about his people.
Fiction book (2000) -
Stephen, I have never made an ethnic slur against you.
Blog text (9) -
Is "Kraut" an ethnic slur?
-
In this case, you are making an ethnic slur just like Porcell, and you know it, against both Todd and me.
Blog text (9) -
Using an ethnic slur can cause deep emotional harm to those targeted by it.
-
The comedian faced backlash after making an ethnic slur during his routine.
-
It's important to educate people about the impact of ethnic slurs on marginalized communities.
Synonyms
17
8.7
An insulting word or phrase that hurts someone
An insulting word used instead of a more neutral one
How Offensive
- Offensive
41
5.1
- Offensive
3
9.9
- Offensive
313
1.3
- Offensive
17
8.7
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly and compositionally derivable from 'ethnic' (relating to race/nationality/language) plus 'slur' (an insulting or derogatory remark); together they naturally mean an insulting remark aimed at someone's ethnicity. This adjective+noun construction is common and cross-linguistically transparent, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would readily infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
Ethnic slur comes from the idea that the word slur once meant a 'stain' or 'smear' on someone's name. With ethnic (a group's race or nationality), it gives the image of a word that 'stains' and hurts that whole group, so it means an offensive insult about a group's race, nationality, or language.