Meaning & use
being inclusive
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Meaning
phrase
the practice of making sure everyone feels welcome, respected, and able to take part, including people who are often excluded.
Grammar: Used as a noun-like phrase; it can be the subject or object of a sentence.
Patterns
- being inclusive of someone
- being inclusive toward someone
- focus on being inclusive
The school is committed to being inclusive of students with disabilities.
Being inclusive means listening to people who are usually ignored.
She praised the team for being inclusive and welcoming new members.
Common combinations
- being inclusive of
- The policy aims at being inclusive of all faiths.
- being inclusive toward
- They are working on being inclusive toward older workers.
- an inclusive environment
- An inclusive environment helps everyone do their best.
- inclusive language
- Inclusive language avoids words that make groups feel left out.
Synonyms and how they differ
- welcoming
- Welcoming focuses on a friendly atmosphere; being inclusive stresses that no group is left out.
- open-minded
- Open-minded is about being willing to consider different ideas, not about including people.
Opposites
Word family
- inclusive adjective
- including everyone or everything
- inclusion noun
- the act of including someone or something
- inclusively adverb
- in a way that includes everyone
Commonly confused: being inclusive or inclusive of?
being inclusive vs inclusive of
Inclusive of is used after a noun to mean 'including': The price is inclusive of tax. Being inclusive is about welcoming people.
Practice
Which sentence uses being inclusive correctly?
Choose one answer.
The usual pattern is being inclusive of someone or something. The other prepositions (to, for, with) do not fit this fixed expression.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “being inclusive”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.