inequality
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
a situation where some people have much more money, power, or better chances than others.
the unfair distribution of resources, opportunities, or status within a society.
Simple“The government is trying to reduce the inequality between the rich and the poor.”
In context“Structural inequality often persists across generations, limiting the social mobility of those born into lower-income households.”
UsageOften used with 'social', 'economic', or 'gender'.
Synonyms - 02 C1 Advanced
a statement that two amounts are not equal, often using symbols like 'greater than' or 'less than'.
a mathematical expression showing that one quantity is greater than, less than, or not equal to another.
Simple“The teacher asked us to solve the inequality where x is greater than five.”
In context“The student struggled to graph the linear inequality on the coordinate plane, forgetting to shade the region representing the solution set.”
UsageCommonly used with symbols such as <, >, ≤, or ≥.
Antonyms
Usage social inequality
“Students who face intersecting forms of inequality—LGBTIQA+ students, international students and students of color—are even more likely to experience sexual violence.”
“That movement gained popularity in the early 2020s, particularly after the murder of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, sparked a public reckoning over racial inequality.”
From Middle English inequalite, from Old French inequalité, from Medieval Latin inaequālitās, from Latin inaequālis (“unequal”), from in- (“not”) + aequālis (“equal”). Morphologically inequal + -ity and in- + equality.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.