femicide
Americannoun
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the act of killing a woman, as by a domestic partner or a member of a criminal enterprise.
The rate of femicide where there is drug trafficking is far greater than it is elsewhere.
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the deliberate, wanton violation and massacre of women and girls, as in a particular ethnic group by an invading army.
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a person who kills a woman.
In certain countries, femicides appear to act with impunity.
Etymology
Origin of femicide
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
They also want the offence of "femicide" to be brought into the penal code.
From BBC • Mar. 24, 2026
Italy will now join Cyprus, Malta and Croatia as EU member states that have introduced a legal definition of femicide in their criminal codes.
From BBC • Nov. 25, 2025
From now on, Italy will record every murder of a woman that is motivated by her gender as femicide.
From BBC • Nov. 25, 2025
"I want this to carry on and be a platform against violence for women and girls. It'll be used to help other organisations, femicide awareness and things like that."
From BBC • Jun. 20, 2025
Among the issues that Mexican women face are femicide, or women killed because of their gender, a gender employment gap and inadequate policies guaranteeing sexual and reproductive rights.
From Seattle Times • Jun. 3, 2024
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.