feminist
Americanadjective
noun
noun
adjective
Other Word Forms
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.
Vocabulary lists containing feminist
When Fake is Real: Young People Rebel Against Instagram, Via Instagram
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Brown Girl Dreaming
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Chapter 29: The Civil Rights Era
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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.
Ms. Lü, the editor of Feminist Voices, was traveling in the U.S. in March 2015 when authorities arrested five of her fellow activists, sparking a worldwide outcry.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 6, 2026
Feminist groups noted that such incidents were a daily reality for many Mexican women.
From Barron's • Nov. 5, 2025
I remembered Feminist Chauvinist Pigs, too, but not the vast majority of other feminist literature published around the same time.
From Slate • May 12, 2025
The Black Panther Party, the movement against the war in Vietnam, and the growing Feminist movement added thousands more actions to that struggle.
From Salon • Apr. 18, 2025
Inside the card are a receipt for a yearly subscription to Feminist Monthly, a pressed violet, and a letter folded into the shape of a rabbit:
From "Odd One Out" by Nic Stone
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.
