chauvinist

American  

[shoh-vuh-nist] / ˈʃoʊ və nɪst /

noun

• chauvinists
  plural

1. a person who is aggressively and blindly patriotic, especially one devoted to military glory.

2. a person who believes one gender is superior to the other, as a or a

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• chauvinistic
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• chauvinists
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of chauvinist

First recorded in 1860–65; chauvin(ism) ( def. ) + -ist ( def. )

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Compare meaning

How does chauvinist compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• chauvinist vs. misogynist

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Explanation

A chauvinist is someone who blindly and enthusiastically believes in the superiority of his cause or people. If you grew up in New York and refuse to eat at any pizzeria beyond a five-mile radius of the Empire State Building, you could be described as a New York pizza chauvinist. The word chauvinist comes from Nicholas Chauvin, a French soldier — probably fictional — who was so devoted to Napoleon that he continued to zealously support the emperor even after Napoleon rejected him. The put-down “male chauvinist pig” describes a man who believes that women are not as intelligent or worthy of respect as men. Often when we hear the word chauvinist, we think of arrogant men.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

chauvinist chauvinists

Sacha Baron Cohen and Rosamund Pike star in a Netflix comedy about a corporate chauvinist who finds himself in a parallel universe—one in which the women are in charge.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026

On 20 September 1973, an estimated 90 million people around the world watched Billie Jean King beat self-proclaimed chauvinist Bobby Riggs in a best-of-five match at the Houston Astrodome.

From BBC ● Dec. 27, 2025

AP: A year later, you famously beat self-proclaimed chauvinist Bobby Riggs in the “Battle of the Sexes” tennis match viewed by millions on TV.

From Seattle Times ● Jun. 23, 2022

The movie, a major sleeper in fourth place in its ninth week, will forever be remarkable for Bruce Willis’s hero journey from chauvinist cop to husband of the year.

From New York Times ● Oct. 2, 2020

But this last alternative seems to me to be special pleading: I am, reluctantly, a self-confessed carbon chauvinist.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan

They did this as a way to gain status from the dominant group and overcome oppression by acting like male chauvinists.

From Salon ● Apr. 23, 2024

This especially pleases Midwest chauvinists, who have had to contend with curdled despisers from — Et tu, Brute? — the Midwest.

From Washington Post ● Dec. 30, 2022

But for the most part, “The Silent Party” is a quietly intense drama, focusing closely on its heroine and the unbearable pressures of a life spent surrounded by hyper-controlling chauvinists.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2022

Against many chauvinists, Whyte was an early and fierce champion of the activist and author Jane Jacobs, who considered him one of her few friends in Manhattan.

From New York Times ● Jan. 12, 2022

Victor Hugo's inheritance, which was ill administered by chatterers and chauvinists, by Déroulède and such poets with their big drums and their trumpet-flourishes, has been taken over in France by Verhaeren.

From ?mile Verhaeren by Stefan Zweig

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Related Words

• female chauvinist
• male chauvinist
• misogynist

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