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hate speech

hate speech

41 5.1
Speech that attacks a group and encourages others to harm or treat them unfairly, like race, religion, gender
  • noun
  • /heɪt spiːtʃ/
  • Offensive
translation icon : discurso de odio
  • What is hate speech and should the government ban it?
  • hate speech laws
  • censor hate speech
  • hate speech codes

Though we, we do have these hate speech laws, they are applied.

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Examples

  • Twitter says it will ban Trump if he breaks hate speech rules.

  • Same number say that hate speech is a concern, too.

  • Free speech does not include hate speech, right?

  • The general belief in American history has been free speech includes all speech, including hate speech.

  • Resistance to violent hate speech is not another act of hate.

  • The agreement discourages hate speech and encourages respectful dialogue in order to reduce potential violence.

    Academic text (2009)
  • Hate speech is no longer tolerated, and politically, we're reclaiming the moral high ground.

  • We have Iranian cleric Mohsen Khadivar speaking on hate speech and free speech.

  • Free speech does not include hate speech, right?

  • We need to address this epidemic of hate speech, which is leading to hateful actions around the country.

Synonyms

bigotry
vshate speech
  • NSFW
115 7.0

An unfair dislike of people from other groups like different races or religions

is public expression urging hatred, violence, or discrimination against groups
hatemongering
vshate speech
  • Offensive
1 9.1

The act of making people feel hate toward a person or group

includes calls for violence or discrimination against particular groups
incendiary speech
vshate speech
  • Literature
8.7

A speech that makes people very angry or causes unrest

targets specific groups with calls for hatred, violence, or discrimination

How Hateful

incitement
  • NSFW
13 8.1
hate speech
  • Offensive
41 5.1
offensive
  • Offensive
261 4.0
insult
  • Offensive
313 1.3

Surface Forms

hate speech singular
hate speeches plural

Morphology

hate + speech

The meaning ('speech that promotes hatred or hostility') is directly and compositionally derived from combining 'hate' (hostile feeling) with 'speech' (oral or public expression), so a learner who knows both words can infer the basic sense. This compound pattern is cross-linguistically common, making the term immediately comprehensible to a B1 learner (though legal/technical nuances of the term may require further exposure).

Etymology

Hate speech comes from joining hate, meaning strong dislike, and speech, meaning words people say or write. It creates the image of using words to attack a group, so it means 'public words that promote hatred, violence, or discrimination'.