Meaning of tokenistic | Babel Free

Definitions

1. Serving as a token of support, compliance, etc., but lacking substance; exhibiting or relating to tokenism.
2. Constituting a token or symbol.
   obsolete

Examples

“The government has taken nothing more than tokenistic actions on behalf of people with disabilities.”

“The company’s use of ads depicting gay couples appears to be merely tokenistic, particularly in view of the support it has given to anti-LGBT politicians.”

“But what is not needed is a tokenistic gesture to place a woman, any woman, in the role, irrespective of her politics.”

“‘You can't say “coloured”. And it's not the word “black” either,’ says Sarah's partner, Ross. ‘It's that it's tokenistic to say “invite your black friends”.’”

“More than 300 academics and students have criticised universities for their “tokenistic and superficial” support for the Black Lives Matter movement given their poor record on tackling institutional racism.”

“As Jonathan Bartley said in The Independent on January 20, it makes Johnson's £12bn ten-point plan look "tokenistic by comparison".”

“1908, T. W. Pearce, “The Ancient Faiths of the Chinese” in Arnold Wright (ed.), Twentieth Century Impressions of Hongkong, Shanghai, and other Treaty Ports of China, London: Lloyd’s Greater Britain Publishing Company, p. 340, Animals are tokens. Among tokenistic animals the dragon holds the first place. The dragon of the sky is indissolubly linked in the minds of the masses with the emperor who sits on the dragon throne, and who, after death, ascends upon the dragon “to be a guest on high.””

CEFR level