noun · formal
polarization
UK/ˌpɒləraɪˈzeɪʃ(ə)n/US/ˌpɑːlərəˈzeɪʃən/pol·a·ri·ZA·tion
a process in which opinions, attitudes, or groups move to opposite extremes
Examples
“Political polarization has made compromise between parties very difficult.”
“Media coverage often increases polarization on controversial issues.”
“The campaign deepened the polarization among voters.”
Band 8 sentence
“The intense political polarization in recent years has made cross-party compromise increasingly rare.”
Collocations
- political polarization
- increasing polarization
- social polarization
Word family
Common mistakes
many polarization→widespread polarization
polarise opinions→polarize opinions
Say it for a higher band
5division→6split→7+polarization
Synonyms
division
split
Easily confused
division
“The division between generations shaped the town's voting patterns.”
segregation
“Historic segregation in the city affected school demographics for decades.”
Related words
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In Society & Government
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