I. -lēd.ˌizəm, -lēˌtiz- noun
( -s )
1. : belief in and advocacy of leadership or rule by an elite
in other recent writers … one can find a similar elitism and a similar concern with … strong leadership — David Riesman
also : leadership or rule by an elite
will … be charged … with being undemocratic, or, worse, of advocating elitism — Cormac Philip
2. : consciousness of being an elite or one of the elite
they escape the elitism which is characteristic of the administrative class in the national government — C.J.Friedrich
the new liberalism enjoyed its taste of elitism , of being in the know — Louis Filler
II. noun
: the selectivity of the elite ; especially : snobbery
revealed their elitism in choosing new members