ageism means the treating of a person or people, especially older people, differently from others based on assumptions, prejudices or/and stereotypes relating to their age. Lexicurio rates it Rare gem — a strength score of 82 out of 100.
ageism is pronounced /ˈeɪd͡ʒ.ɪzm̩/.
Why “ageism” is a great word
AGEISM — [Noun] Prejudice or discrimination against individuals based on their age, most commonly targeting older people. From age + the suffix -ism (denoting a system, principle, or ideological prejudice). Coined in 1969 by American gerontologist and psychiatrist Robert N. Butler. Unlike gerontophobia (which specifies an irrational fear of the elderly) or age discrimination (which names specific, actionable acts), ageism names the pervasive cultural bias itself. It is the résumé screened out before the interview, the medical complaint dismissed as inevitable decline, and the cultural whisper equating youth with relevance—a quiet erosion that mistakes chronology for character and treats the patina of time as decay.
noun
- The treating of a person or people, especially older people, differently from others based on assumptions, prejudices or/and stereotypes relating to their age.“But a half-hour into this third Democratic debate, many Democrats had to be wondering: Can he [Joe Biden] go three hours? It’s our own collective ageism.”