PAROCHIALISM Synonyms: 25 Similar and Opposite Words

parochialism

noun

Definition of parochialism

as in insularity

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of parochialism This proposal, coupled with the disincentive at the federal level that increased the price of the visas from $215 to $100,000, shows a parochialism that does not foster open and productive inquiry. — Letters To The Editor, The Orlando Sentinel, 1 Feb. 2026 Within a few years of leaving Texas, Rauschenberg had upended everything the place had meant to him, smashing through the parochialism of small-town Southern life, where necks were broken in Jesus’ name, and families indentured or murdered. — Hilton Als, New Yorker, 10 Nov. 2025 Central government has done nothing to pressure the council to abandon its parochialism. — Jack Watling, Foreign Affairs, 24 Mar. 2025 But his critics on the left, many of them of color, have long pointed out these very blind spots in his work—the parochialism of his politics and his reticence where Muslim, and particularly Palestinian, death and suffering were concerned. — Parul Sehgal, The New Yorker, 14 Oct. 2024 See All Example Sentences for parochialism

Recent Examples of Synonyms for parochialism

Noun

His bond with Nathan was premised on its insularity, then Gael arrived like Yoko and threw everything out of whack.

— Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 29 Sep. 2026
But the issue is mostly that Zeller’s psychological insight into his characters runs a lot deeper than his thoughts on the privileged insularity of wealth.

— David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 8 Sep. 2026

Definition of insularity

Noun

The condescension was of its time, a provincialism of the art world, ironically.

— Doreen St. Félix, New Yorker, 5 Sep. 2026
Attempts to resolve ecological responsibility through strict localism often risk sliding into cultural provincialism or nationalist enclosure—fantasies of purity that ignore how deeply entangled our lives already are.

— Manuela Moscoso, Artforum, 2 Apr. 2026

Definition of provincialism

Noun

As a piece of theater, the dialogue between the two men often lands on the heart like a wry, platonic romance — and the moments in which both take a stand against the bigotry of some of Seastone’s callers are suddenly and acutely poignant.

— Sara Holdren, Vulture, 5 Oct. 2026
The department’s defenders maintain that progress has been made toward rooting out bigotry.

— Libor Jany, Los Angeles Times, 30 Sep. 2026

Definition of bigotry

Noun

When authenticity becomes uncompromising, candor turns belligerent, consistency becomes rigid, or principled decision-making morphs into dogmatism, even the best intentions can backfire.

— Mary Crossan, Forbes.com, 23 June 2026
By staying so close to black metal’s core sound, Marchenko does more to undermine the dogmatism—both racial and aesthetic—of Vikernes and his ilk than a more obviously experimental project might.

— Sadie Sartini Garner, Pitchfork, 31 Mar. 2026

Definition of dogmatism

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parochial

parochialism

parodied

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“Parochialism.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/parochialism. Accessed 11 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of parochialism

noun

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