Meaning & use
racially profiled
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Meanings
adjectiveafter a verb
treated unfairly by police or security because of your race, not because of anything you did
Grammar: Used after linking verbs like be, get, or feel: She felt racially profiled at the airport.
Patterns
- be racially profiled
- get racially profiled
- feel racially profiled
The customer said he was racially profiled when the store detective followed him around.
Several drivers reported that they had been racially profiled during traffic stops.
verbtransitive
the past tense and past participle of 'racially profile': to treat someone unfairly based on their race
Grammar: The base form is 'racially profile'; use 'racially profiled' for past events or passive sentences.
Patterns
- racially profile someone
- be racially profiled by someone
The report showed that officers racially profiled young men from minority backgrounds.
She claimed the airline had racially profiled her before boarding.
Common combinations
- be racially profiled by police
- Many people in the survey said they had been racially profiled by police.
- feel racially profiled
- He felt racially profiled when the guard asked only him for ID.
- racially profiled at the airport
- Passengers complained about being racially profiled at the airport.
Synonyms and how they differ
- discriminated against
- This is wider: it covers unfair treatment because of race, sex, age, or other reasons, not only race.
Word family
- racial profiling noun
- The practice of treating people unfairly because of their race.
- racially profile verb
- The base verb form meaning to treat someone unfairly based on race.
Practice
Complete the sentence: 'He said he was ____ when the officer stopped him for no clear reason.'
Choose one answer.
'Racially profiled' is the passive adjective form used after 'was'. 'Racial profiling' is a noun, 'racially profile' is the base verb (wrong after 'was'), and 'race profile' is not a standard phrase.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “racially profiled”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.