Glossary

Woke

A term that began as awareness of racial injustice and is now often used, mostly pejoratively, for progressive cultural and social attitudes.

Also called: wokeness, being woke, stay woke

"Woke" originally meant being alert to racism and social injustice, in African American vernacular English. It appeared in the 1930s and was popularized in the 2010s through the Black Lives Matter movement and the phrase "stay woke."

Its use then expanded to cover a range of progressive positions on race, gender, sexuality and inequality, and often became a term of disapproval from conservatives, who use it to describe what they see as excessive or dogmatic attention to identity, moral signaling, speech policing and institutional policies such as diversity, equity and inclusion. Some politicians, such as Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, have made "anti-woke" a platform, including laws about schools and corporate training.

People who describe themselves as woke tend to use it positively, to mean awareness of structural injustice; many who are criticized for it reject the label as a vague insult applied to anything the speaker dislikes. Because the term has no fixed meaning, polls and commentary show disagreement about whether it is a coherent ideology. Related terms include identity politics, political correctness and cancel culture, and its academic counterpart critical-race-theory.

Last reviewed November 8, 2026

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Related terms

Identity politics Political activity organized around group identities such as race, gender or religion, a term used both descriptively and as criticism. Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) Organizational policies and programs aimed at diversity of people, equitable treatment and inclusion, which have become contested politically. Political correctness A term for language and behavior meant to avoid offending particular groups, used both approvingly as courtesy and critically as enforced orthodoxy. Cancel culture The practice of withdrawing support from or publicly shaming people or institutions deemed to have said or done something offensive, a contested label. Critical race theory An academic framework, originating in law, that examines how race and racism are embedded in laws and institutions, and a flashpoint in school debates.