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(in the Republic of South Africa) a rigid former policy of segregating and economically and politically oppressing the nonwhite population.
any system or practice that separates people according to color, ethnicity, caste, etc.
Contemporary Examples

Israel is not a perfect state, but it is nothing like apartheid South Africa, says a writer who has lived in both countries.
Don’t Accuse Israel of Apartheid Benjamin Pogrund July 16, 2014

Then there is the fact that, for many years, the IDF generously supplied the apartheid regime with technology and weapons.
The South African “Made In” Fight Kevin Bloom October 29, 2012

If it were to refuse this demand, Israel would very quickly be painted by former friends as an apartheid state.
What Abbas Should Do at the UN Michael Tomasky November 26, 2012

For given the history of animosity and bloodshed, the most probable alternatives to partition are apartheid and Lebanonization.
Partition Skepticism and the Future of the Peace Process Avner Inbar, Assaf Sharon September 24, 2013

Before Fidel, when segregation was in full swing, the Cuban apartheid meant many clubs and parks still refused black Cubans entry.
The Life and Hard Times Of The Family A Cuban Defector Left Behind Brin-Jonathan Butler December 18, 2014

Barghouti went so far as to claim that “the Israeli apartheid has ‘Made in U.S.A.’ written all over it.”
‘The Gatekeepers,’ Brooklyn College BDS Forum: Week of Israel Debate Gail Sheehy February 7, 2013

apartheid is a system of policies already practiced by successive Israeli governments.
Apartheid Ambiguity Yousef Munayyer November 4, 2012

apartheid, like genocide, has an internationally recognized legal definition.
This Duck Is an Apartheid Duck Yousef Munayyer March 21, 2012

But apartheid intensified South African Zionism because it kept Jews from becoming fully South African.
The Israel Debate In South Africa Peter Beinart January 28, 2013

Most participants judge Israel to be an apartheid society based solely on its actions in the West Bank.
The False Apartheid Narrative Robert Cherry February 27, 2013

noun
(in South Africa) the official government policy of racial segregation; officially renounced in 1992
n.

1947 (policy begun 1948), from Afrikaans apartheid (1929 in a South African socio-political context), literally “separateness,” from Dutch apart “separate” (from French àpart; see apart) + suffix -heid, cognate of English -hood. The official English synonym was separate development (1955).

“Segregation” is such an active word that it suggests someone is trying to segregate someone else. So the word “apartheid” was introduced. Now it has such a stench in the nostrils of the world, they are referring to “autogenous development.” [Alan Paton, “New York Times,” Oct. 24, 1960]

apartheid [(uh-pahr-teyet, uh-pahr-tayt)]

The racist policy (see racism) of South Africa that long denied blacks and other nonwhites civic, social, and economic equality with whites. It was dismantled during the 1990s. (See Nelson Mandela.)