feminist

American  

[fem-uh-nist] / ˈfɛm ə nɪst /

adjective

1. advocating social, political, legal, and economic rights for women equal to those of men.

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noun

• feminists
  plural

1. an advocate of such rights.

feminist British  

/ ˈfɛmɪnɪst /

noun

1. a person who advocates equal rights for women

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adjective

1. of, relating to, or advocating feminism

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• antifeminist
  noun
• profeminist
  noun
• unfeminist
  noun
• antifeministic
  adjective
• nonfeminist
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• feminists
  plural

Etymology

Origin of feminist

First recorded in 1850–55 (probably in the current sense, but possibly in the sense “feminine, womanly”); from Latin fēmina “woman” + -ist ( def. )

Explanation

A feminist is someone who supports equal rights for women. If your brother objects strongly to women being paid less than men for doing the same job, he's probably a feminist. If you believe that women should have the same political, social, and economic rights as men, you are a feminist. It has absolutely nothing to do with putting down men or boys in order to elevate the status of women. The word feminist comes from feminism, which originally meant simply "being feminine," or "being a woman," but gained the meaning "advocacy of women's rights" in the late 1800s.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

feminist feminists

Few would argue there aren't valid feminist questions for the beauty industry to answer, around unrealistic standards for example, but the largely female-run nail sector also feels empowering for many women.

From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026

A dose of feminist wisdom: Weeks after Gloria Steinem’s death, her memoir has been posthumously published.

From Slate ● Sep. 23, 2026

“We are waiting to give birth to ourselves,” Gloria Steinem writes in “An Unexpected Life,” a memoir that touches only lightly on events from the personal life of the celebrated feminist.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2026

Unless you’re into feminist history, this is probably the first time you’re hearing those names; it’s definitely not well-known lore.

From Salon ● Sep. 22, 2026

But the third daughter, who had become a feminist in the wake of her divorce, said she considered such locker-room entertainments offensive.

From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez

In addition, some feminists argue that women cannot voluntarily enter into surrogacy agreements because they cannot know in advance the bond they may develop with the fetus during pregnancy.

From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026

As new waves of feminists confronted different issues, some became exasperated by Steinem’s seemingly perennial role as the face of the women’s movement.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026

At the time, the union drew gasps of surprise and even disappointment from some feminists, who had spent years following Steinem's heated debates surrounding marriage laws.

From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026

During Reconstruction, first-wave feminists agitated for the 14th Amendment to not just remedy the stain of slavery, but to eliminate inequality in all its forms.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 1, 2026

One of the most famous—or infamous—of these New Departure feminists was Victoria Claflin Woodhull.

From "Votes for Women!" by Winifred Conkling