manifesto

American  

[man-uh-fes-toh] / ˌmæn əˈfɛs toʊ /

noun

• manifestoes,
  plural
• manifestos
  plural

1. a public declaration of intentions, opinions, objectives, or motives, as one issued by a government, sovereign, or organization.

2. a mission statement or other document written and disseminated by an individual or group to enumerate or expound the guiding principles and beliefs that inform their actions.

   The mail bomber submitted his 35,000-word manifesto to two major national news publications.

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manifesto British  

/ ˌmænɪˈfɛstəʊ /

noun

1. a public declaration of intent, policy, aims, etc, as issued by a political party, government, or movement

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• countermanifesto
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• manifestoes
  plural
• manifestos
  plural

Etymology

Origin of manifesto

First recorded in 1640–50; from Italian; see manifest (adjective)

Explanation

A manifesto is a public statement stating your views or your intention to do something. If you feel you should be voted "Most Likely to Succeed," you could issue a manifesto describing all the reasons why you deserve to win. Manifesto comes from the Italian word of the same spelling, meaning "public declaration explaining past actions and announcing the motive for forthcoming ones." You'll most often hear about a manifesto that's been issued by a group, like a political party or government — for example, a set of new rules that an incoming regime is going to enforce. Though organizations are more likely to create a manifesto, it's also possible for an individual to issue one about more personal ideas.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

manifesto manifestoes manifestos

It describes German memory culture, in its manifesto, as a "guilt complex".

From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026

For women who, like me, came of age in the 1980s, “9 to 5” was a canon event, a feminist manifesto wrapped up in a hit comedy.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026

The notes that he wrote up synthesizing his thoughts would form the basis of his viral manifesto.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026

Other manifesto pledges have included forcing water company bosses to swim in polluted rivers and banning loud snacks in cinemas.

From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026

“One of the lines I remember from the Dauntless manifesto is, ‘We believe in ordinary acts of bravery, in the courage that drives one person to stand up for another.’”

From "Divergent" by Veronica Roth

Key policy clashes have yet to develop with most manifestoes not due to be released until after Easter.

From BBC ● Mar. 29, 2026

Some babysitters in the postwar period even created babysitter unions, drawing up contracts and manifestoes detailing what they would and would not do, and the working conditions they expected.

From Slate ● Jul. 3, 2020

In his acknowledgments, Snowden thanks the novelist Joshua Cohen for “helping to transform my rambling reminiscences and capsule manifestoes into a book.”

From New York Times ● Sep. 13, 2019

It features the actress as 13 different characters — all of whom recite artist manifestoes.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 2, 2018

Thus did they spend their hours in the writing of peace-instruments and manifestoes.

From Hesperus or Forty-Five Dog-Post-Days Vol. I. A Biography by Jean Paul

His manifestos mix smart political satire with comedic promises to cap croissant prices, improve WiFi on UK trains and conscript people using speakerphones on public transport.

From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026

Both major parties released manifestos with more than 1,000 individual promises each.

From Slate ● Jun. 6, 2026

Spiralism appears on subreddits, Discord servers, Facebook groups and even LinkedIn pages, where followers share AI-generated manifestos, glyphs and what followers describe as revelations from a conscious machine.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 4, 2026

This might sound unbelievable, but I’ve had many episodes of fear in this process — in manifestos I’ve made, at shows, in recordings.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 4, 2026

Over the past several decades, educators, world leaders, and theorists have produced a slurry of manifestos, visions and statements on what education should look like in the 21st century.

From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin

Related Words

• platform
• proclamation