ghettoized

ghettoized — verb

1. to keep a particular social, ethnic, or cultural group from fully taking part in

1.動詞及物C1
釋義

to keep a particular social, ethnic, or cultural group from fully taking part in the opportunities and activities of a society, by treating their traditions or concerns as unimportant or separate.

例句

The Roma community was ghettoized for generations by policies that denied them access to mainstream schools and jobs.

passive: ghettoized by + agent (policies)

City planners in Maputo ghettoized low-income families by concentrating all subsidized housing in a single run-down district.

ghettoized + by + gerund (method of isolating)

同義詞
  • marginalize

    more general; does not carry the same housing/segregation history

  • segregate

    emphasizes physical separation enforced by law or policy

  • exclude

    broader; can refer to any kind of barrier rather than systematic societal isolation

反義詞
  • integrate

    bringing groups together rather than separating them

  • include

    the opposite of excluding from opportunities

文法句型

ghettoize + object (group/community)

be ghettoized by + agent

用法筆記

Frequently occurs in the passive (be ghettoized) or as a past-participle adjective (a ghettoized neighborhood). The object is always a group of people, not an object or abstract idea.

常見錯誤

❌The company ghettoized its old product line.
✅The company marginalized its old product line.
💡Ghettoized applies to groups of people being excluded from society, not to products or business decisions.

2. to force a group of people to live in a small, walled-off or restricted area of

2.動詞及物C2
釋義

to force a group of people to live in a small, walled-off or restricted area of a city, apart from the rest of the population, typically because of their ethnicity or religion.

例句

During World War II the Nazis ghettoized hundreds of thousands of Jewish families in cramped districts surrounded by walls and barbed wire.

ghettoized + group + in + location (historical context)

In medieval Venice, the authorities ghettoized Jewish merchants into the Cannaregio district, locking the gates every night.

同義詞
  • confine

    less specific than ghettoize; can describe any kind of physical restriction

  • quarantine

    implies isolation for health reasons, not ethnicity or religion

反義詞
  • free

    to allow people to move and live wherever they choose

  • liberate

    to end the enforced isolation

文法句型

be ghettoized in + location

ghettoize + group + into + area

用法筆記

Mostly used in historical contexts and nearly always passive. The subject is typically a government, regime, or other institutional authority. Distinguish from sense 1, which describes social/cultural exclusion rather than literal physical confinement.

常見錯誤

❌The students ghettoized the new kid at lunch.
✅The students isolated the new kid at lunch.
💡Ghettoized in this context implies literal physical relocation by an authority, not everyday social rejection.