misogynist

American  

[mi-soj-uh-nist, mahy‑] / mɪˈsɒdʒ ə nɪst, maɪ‑ /

noun

1. a person who hates, dislikes, or mistrusts women.

2. a person whose views are shaped by ingrained and institutionalized prejudice against women; a sexist.

   a renowned playboy and misogynist—a poster child for sexism.

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adjective

1. showing a hatred, dislike, or mistrust of women.

   He faces federal hate crime charges for racist and misogynist rants.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• misogynistic
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of misogynist

First recorded in 1620–30; see origin at misogyny ( def. ), -ist ( def. )

Compare meaning

How does misogynist compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• chauvinist vs. misogynist

Explanation

If you're someone who believes women belong in the kitchen and shouldn't be accorded the same respect as men, you might be a misogynist. A misogynist is a person who hates or doesn't trust women. Misogynist is from Greek misogynḗs, from the prefix miso- "hatred" plus gynḗ "a woman." The English suffix -ist means "person who does something." The prefix mis-, a variant of miso- before a vowel, appears in the opposite term misandrist, which is a person who hates or doesn't trust men. The corresponding nouns are mysogyny and misandry.