racially charged

Meaning

1. 1adjectivecomparable

   Likely to provoke strong, tense or angry reactions because it touches on racial differences, racism or past racial injustice.

   Grammar: Usually comes before a noun: a racially charged debate; it can also follow be: the mood was racially charged.

   Patterns

   • a racially charged something
   • become racially charged

   The mayor's comments were widely criticized as racially charged and unhelpful.

   Police were called to the meeting after the argument turned racially charged.

   Teachers need training to handle racially charged discussions calmly in the classroom.

Common combinations

racially charged atmosphere

The trial took place in a racially charged atmosphere that worried many residents.

racially charged language

The company apologized for the racially charged language in its advertisement.

racially charged incident

A racially charged incident on the bus led to a community meeting.

racially charged debate

The new policy sparked a racially charged debate in the city council.

racially charged history

The town has a racially charged history that people still find hard to discuss.

Synonyms and how they differ

racially sensitive

This is milder and describes a topic needing careful handling, whereas racially charged suggests tension is already present.

inflammatory

This is broader and can apply to any topic, and it stresses the intent to anger people rather than the racial subject.

divisive

This focuses on splitting people into opposing camps and does not point to race specifically.

racially motivated

This describes a cause or motive behind an act such as a crime, not the tense atmosphere around it.

Opposites

Word family

racial adjective

relating to race

racially adverb

in a way connected with race

race noun

a group of people grouped by shared physical traits or ancestry

charge verb

to fill with strong emotion or tension

Commonly confused: racially charged or racist?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “racially charged”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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