femicide
Americannoun
-
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.
-
the deliberate, wanton violation and massacre of women and girls, as in a particular ethnic group by an invading army.
-
a person who kills a woman.
In certain countries, femicides appear to act with impunity.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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.
See Examples For:
They also want the offence of "femicide" to be brought into the penal code.
From BBC ● Mar. 24, 2026
It makes Italy one of very few places to categorise femicide as a distinct crime.
From BBC ● Nov. 25, 2025
On Thursday, President Cyril Ramaphosa told the G20 Social Summit that South Africa had "declared gender-based violence and femicide a national crisis" in 2019.
From BBC ● Nov. 20, 2025
Eastwood said that Northern Ireland "is one of the most dangerous places in Europe to be a woman" as she outlined recent femicide statistics.
From BBC ● Jan. 9, 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
Figures recorded for all femicides in Scotland, where there was a relationship between the victim and the suspect, show the highest number of female homicides was 16 in the year 2021/22.
From BBC ● Mar. 29, 2026
While many are supportive, some worry that she is insufficiently committed to supporting feminist efforts to halt femicides.
From Salon ● Jul. 15, 2025
She said Italy's upper house was due to start voting on Wednesday on a bill that expands protection measures for women at risk, and announced a public awareness campaign against femicides.
From Reuters ● Nov. 20, 2023
The fact that Mexico — where women didn’t have a constitutional right to vote until 1953 and which today struggles with femicides — could have a woman president might seem remarkable.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2023
Nine of Mexico’s 2,446 municipalities, including Ecatepec, accounted for 13% of femicides nationally, through September.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 27, 2022
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.
