elit·ist
i-ˈlē-tist 
ē-
ā-
ē-
ā-
plural elitists
1
: one who is an adherent of elitism : one whose attitudes and beliefs are biased in favor of a socially elite class of people
On many issues, they seem to be populists rather than elitists—believers that people can make decisions for themselves better than elites can.—
Michael Barone
Michael BaroneDerided by elitists as phony, the … movement is spontaneous, decentralized, frequently amateurish and sometimes shrill.—Karl Rove
Karl Rove2
: a person who is or regards himself or herself as a member of a socially elite group
He's too rich, too polished—he's an elitist in a party that has become home to disaffected white, working-class voters.—Joe Klein
Joe KleinHe was an elitist, who esteemed himself better than Americans from most classes of the population.—Louis Filler
Louis Filler
a
: giving special treatment and advantages to wealthy and powerful people
elitist colleges
an elitist country club
Cosmetic surgery is still mostly an elitist preoccupation …—Toni Bentley
Toni Bentley
b
: regarding other people as inferior because they lack power, wealth, or status : snobbish
an elitist snob
elitist classmates
Examples of elitist in a Sentence
Adjective
the complacent, elitist attitude of the members at that suburban country club
Recent Examples on the Web
Dan Piepenbring, Harper's Magazine, 19 Feb. 2025
And voters’ belief that its beneficiaries are complacent elitists skilled only in symbolic victory can no longer be blamed on brainwashing by right-wing media.
—Matt Brennan, Los Angeles Times, 19 Jan. 2025
Alfredo Sosa, The Christian Science Monitor, 27 Feb. 2025
The new installment of the anthology series will follow a young couple who witnesses an alarming fight between their boss and his wife, triggering chess moves of favors and coercion in the elitist world of a country club and its Korean billionaire owner.
—Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 24 Feb. 2025
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Noun
By 1990, bootleg versions of the book had washed up for sale in the pages of far-right magazines, peddled alongside sulfurous predictions of American concentration camps and a helpful who’s who of global elitists.
—Dan Piepenbring, Harper's Magazine, 19 Feb. 2025
And voters’ belief that its beneficiaries are complacent elitists skilled only in symbolic victory can no longer be blamed on brainwashing by right-wing media.
—Matt Brennan, Los Angeles Times, 19 Jan. 2025
Adjective
Cinephiles can be a bit elitist about their preference for movies on film.
—Alfredo Sosa, The Christian Science Monitor, 27 Feb. 2025
The new installment of the anthology series will follow a young couple who witnesses an alarming fight between their boss and his wife, triggering chess moves of favors and coercion in the elitist world of a country club and its Korean billionaire owner.
—Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 24 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for elitist
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Cite this Entry
“Elitist.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/elitist. Accessed 12 Mar. 2025.
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