Capitalist Meaning

/ˈkæp.ɪ.tə.lɪst/
B2

Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.

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adjOf, or pertaining to, capitalism.

adjSupporting or endorsing capitalism.

Edward, the venture capitalist, hit the jackpot in the oil business.
Tom is a crony capitalist.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The wealthy ____ invested heavily in the new technology startup.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
He is a wealthy ____ who has invested in many different companies.

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *kap- Proto-Indo-European *káput Proto-Italic *kaput Latin caput Proto-Indo-European *h₂el-der.? Proto-Italic *-ālis Latin -ālis Latin capitālisbor. Old French capitalbor. Middle English capital English capital Proto-Indo-European *-id- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-idyéti Proto-Hellenic *-íďďō Ancient Greek -ῐ́ζω (-ĭ́zō) Proto-Hellenic *-tās Ancient Greek -τής (-tḗs) Ancient Greek -ῐστής (-ĭstḗs)bor. Latin -istader. Old French -istebor. Middle English -ist English -ist ▲ French capitalistecalq. English capitalist From capital + -ist. Calque of French capitaliste.

"He draws eclectically on studies of baboons, descriptive anthropological accounts of hunter-gatherer societies and, in a few cases, the fossil record. With this biological framework in place, Corning endeavors to show that the capitalist system as currently practiced in the United States and elsewhere is manifestly unfair." — 2012 March-April, John T. Jost, “Social Justice: Is It in Our Nature (and Our Future)?”, in American Scientist, volume 100, number 2, archived from the original on 13 Feb 2012, page 162:
"This is a capitalist society. It’s a fatalistic mantra that seems to get repeated to anyone who questions why America can’t be more fair or equal. But around the world, there are many types of capitalist societies, ranging from liberating to exploitative, protective to abusive, democratic to unregulated." — 2019 August 14, Matthew Desmond, “In order to understand the brutality of American capitalism, you have to start on the plantation”, in New York Times:
"Well, I thank you for your question, but I have to say we're capitalist—and that is just the way it is. However, we do think that capitalism is not necessarily meeting the needs with the income inequality that we have in our country." — 2017 January 30, CNN Town Hall, spoken by Nancy Pelosi, via CNN:
"Very little of capital acquired in commerce is directed towards agriculture, save where a wealthy capitalist purchases lands for his own use; but it is seldom, if ever, applied to the improvement of the country, in the hands of the original landholders." — 1818, Edward Cooke, “Thought on the Expedency ^([sic]) of Repealing the Usury Laws”, in The Pamphleteer, volume 13, number 25:
"Were a wealthy English capitalist to dispose of the property that belongs to him in Êngland, which has been realised by former industry, and take it to Van Diemen's Land, where he could have land for nothing, he would probably discover that he had made no very judicious change." — 1824, John Rooke, An Inquiry into the Principles of National Wealth, page 90:

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CEFR Practice Quiz
The wealthy ____ invested heavily in the new technology startup.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
He is a wealthy ____ who has invested in many different companies.

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