A hurtful act, such as teasing, name-calling, leaving someone out of a group or activity, or bullying, which is done to another person because of that person's race, color, religion, national origin, ethnicity, accent, gender, disability, or other external characteristic.

In its most extreme form, such a hateful act may be a hate crime. A hate crime is a criminal act, such as vandalism, arson, assault, or murder, in which the victim is intentionally selected because of his or her race, color,religion, national origin, ethnicity, accent, gender, disability, or other external characteristic. Such an act may be a violation of federal law, as well as the laws of many states.