To describe racism as systemic, for example, is to say that racism is fostered and perpetuated by the system in power; someone looking for systemic change wants the fundamental practices of a system to change. The words systemic and systematic are both adjectives that come from the noun system. While they can each be used to broadly mean “relating to a system,” their usual jobs are distinct.
Searches for the word systemic spiked 1870% on Dictionary.com on June 10, 2020 alone. Systematic rhymes with automatic, and something that is performed systematically may appear to be almost automatic in its smoothness. Systemic and systematic and are two words that describe systems and processes, respectively. It refers to something that is carried out in a methodical, organized manner, like a records audit or a police investigation. It describes something that affects an entire process or organization.
The term can also imply a thoroughness that comes from using or applying such a system. When something is done systematically, it is done in a methodical way, according to a plan. When police arrive at a crime scene, they will examine the area accounting profit definition with a systematic approach. In best usage, systemic is reserved for contexts involving body systems, where it might describe a disease that affects all the tissues in a given system. In common practice, it is often used to describe all sorts of things, like dry rot, racism, or inefficiency.
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word ‘systematic.’ Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. System has developed to refer to various nonliving systems that are large and complex—writing systems, belief systems, or, on the level of social institutions, systems of government, banking, and healthcare, to name a few. Then, think about the complexity of the federal government. The George Floyd protests brought attention to the word systemic—among many other powerful words that speak to this historic time—like never before. Many activists and public officials are calling to dismantle the systemic racism in policing and other social institutions that are disproportionately killing and oppressing Black people. If you have some kind of organized plan that you follow, you can say you have a systematic approach to cleaning your house.
Something that is systematic can sometimes appear to run so smoothly that it is almost automatic. By remembering these two rhyming words, you should always be able to remember when to use systematic and systemic. The first sentence calls for systemic because the corruption is affecting multiple levels of the school district. The second sentence calls for systematic because the student is writing the paper with a clear plan.
A lack of communication certainly impairs planning, but the main idea of the sentence is that communication problems affected everything the business was doing; systemic is the best word choice. Especially when talking about social institutions like government or healthcare, systemic is used when discussing something that affects the whole—systemic problems, systemic change. Systemic is also used specifically to identify something as fundamental to a predominant social, economic, or political practice. Something described as “systemic” in this sense of the word is rooted in the system that holds sway.
You are cleaning systematically—methodically, planfully, strategically. If you don’t have a system, you are just going about randomly and haphazardly. In simplest terms, something described as systematic uses or follows a system, while something described as systemic is part of, or is embedded in, the system itself. Systematic is the older and more common word; it most often describes something that is done according to a system or method. The word systematic is more common than systemic, according to data.
Another distinction worth noting is that something done systematically is typically done explicitly and intentionally. Things that exist systemically, as in systemic problems, are often under the surface and unseen to people, far more extensive than any one action—like fish who don’t know they’re determining basis for gambling losses in water. In the first example, does swapping out methodical make sense? In the second example, what, exactly, would methodical challenges be?
Via Latin, systematic ultimately comes from the Greek systēmatikós, an adjective form of the root sýstēma, source of system.
These words actually have different meanings, though, and while it is possible for something to be both systemic and systematic, in most cases only one of these words is correct. But less obvious, and more insidious, is systemic racism. Systemic is an adjective that means “of or relating to a system.” It is especially used to describe some phenomenon—an illness, a social problem—that affects every part of an entire system. Some near synonyms to systemic are structural, comprehensive, inherent, pervasive, ingrained, and extensive. Besides a plan or method, a system, as we saw in our first section, can also mean a group of parts or things that come together to form a whole; systemic draws on this sense of system. In current English, it is most often used to describe something that uses or applies a careful system or method, or that is done according to a system.
Systemic and systematic are both adjectives, but their uses are different. To be systematic about using this confusing pair and avoid systemic errors, here are two interrelated tips. For example, some banks are so central to the global economy that they are considered systemic banks by certain oversight or regulatory agencies.
It helps to know a little history and anatomy when it comes to the word systemic. In biology, a system can refer to the cells and organs that work together to accomplish the same goal (such as the immune system) or to the entire organism (e.g., chocolate is toxic to a dog’s system). So, if you do something in a systematic way or do something systematically, you have a method to your madness.