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Why Nationalism and Patriotism seem like it swap meaning?

English Language & Usage Asked by Thaina on December 20, 2020

When I try to distinguish these two words I found many people link something like intolerance and illogical with Nationalism while Patriotism seem more progressive. But from etymology the word Patriot felt more militaristic and require obedient than Nation

What happen to these words and why we have these mismatch meaning?

One Answer

Webster's 1913 Dictionary has this as one of its definitions for nationalism:

  1. The policy of advocating the interests of one's own country exclusively, regardless of effects of a country's actions on other countries.

This sense of the word carries a more negative connotation than patriotism. Often in political discourse, the word nationalism is used in this negative sense, while people tend to use patriotism to talk about the more positive aspects of dedication to one's country.

Answered by RobJarvis on December 20, 2020

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