ubuntu means A Nguni Bantu ideology focusing on people's allegiances and relations with each other. It carries an Arena rating of 1575, earned across 2 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, ubuntu ranks #1,680 of 17,116 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #4,880 of 17,120 for Most Beautiful Words, #4,882 of 17,140 for The Improbable, #5,976 of 17,137 for Most Exacting Words.
ubuntu is pronounced /ʊˈbʊntuː/.
Why “ubuntu” is a great word
A southern African philosophical concept emphasizing communal interdependence and the principle that one's humanity is inextricably bound up with that of others, often summarized as 'I am because we are.' From the Nguni Bantu languages, particularly Zulu and Xhosa, from the prefix ubu- (abstract noun prefix) and -ntu (person, human being), thus roughly 'humanness' or 'the quality of being human.' Unlike 'individualism' (which prizes the autonomy and moral sovereignty of the isolated self) or 'altruism' (which implies a selfless act performed by one discrete entity for another), ubuntu describes an ontological condition of mutual becoming. It is the shared labor that raises a neighbor's barn, the spontaneous chorus of voices at a community gathering, and the profound, unspoken understanding that a child's well-being is the concern of every adult present—the quiet, constant affirmation that a person is only a person through other people.
noun
- A Nguni Bantu ideology focusing on people's allegiances and relations with each other.e.g.“Through Ubuntu the worth of all individuals are recognized and respected. As such, homophobia is an unAfrican^([sic]) because it denies people the opportunity to express their full humanity.”
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.
- nguni 54% match — The group of Southern African peoples comprising the Zulu, Xhosa, Swazi, Mpondo and Ndebele nations. vs ubuntu →
- ethiopianism 50% match — A sociopolitical movement seeking to unify those of African heritage (Ethiopians) into a global community. vs ubuntu →
- bantuize 48% match — To make Bantu; to subject to Bantuization. vs ubuntu →
- mobutism 48% match — The official party ideology of the Popular Movement of the Revolution, based on the thoughts, visions, and policies of Zairean president Mobutu Sese Seko. vs ubuntu →
- bantuness 47% match — The quality of being Bantu. vs ubuntu →
- oneship 47% match — Unity; oneness. vs ubuntu →
- abayudaya 47% match — Belonging or relating to the Abayudaya. vs ubuntu →
- ujamaa 47% match — A socialist ideology of cooperation and collective advancement that formed the basis of socioeconomic policies in Tanzania in the 1960s. vs ubuntu →