sexist

American  

[sek-sist] / ˈsɛk sɪst /

adjective

1. relating to, involving, or fostering sexism, or attitudes and behavior toward someone based on the person's gender.

   a sexist remark;

   sexist advertising.

2. relating to discrimination or devaluation based on a person's sex or gender, especially such discrimination directed against women.

   A sexist work culture contributes to restricted job opportunities for women.

3. reflecting or exhibiting ingrained or institutionalized prejudice against women.

4. reflecting or exhibiting hatred, dislike, or mistrust of women; misogynistic.

---

noun

• sexists
  plural

1. a person who has sexist attitudes or behaves in a sexist manner.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• sexists
  plural

Etymology

Origin of sexist

First recorded in 1965–70; sex + -ist, on the model of racist ( def. )

Explanation

A sexist is someone who discriminates on the basis of gender. Sexist people and laws are unfair. Like racist and homophobic, this word refers to a type of hatred or discrimination: in this case, on the basis of gender. Usually, sexist people and laws discriminate against women. Back when women couldn't vote, wear pants, or own property, you could say that the world was pretty sexist. Likewise, before all-women Vassar College began admitting men, it was accused of having sexist policies. Treating a man or woman differently just because they're male or female is sexist.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

sexist sexists

As the luminous, sweet and steel-spined Doralee, she doesn’t just hold her own, she shines, shattering the same sexist assumptions that often plagued Dolly.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026

Are we meant to be tough but sensitive, tough but insensitive, or sensitive but sexist?

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 22, 2026

On the left, Marine Tondelier of the Ecologists said the affair was a "symbol of a politico-judicial system incapable of handling the issue of sexist and sexual violence".

From BBC ● Jun. 5, 2026

If the narrative that Gen Z is uniquely progressive were true, we would expect Gen Z–ers to be more progressive than older generations by outright rejecting sexist statements.

From Slate ● Jan. 6, 2026

"The X-Men aren't sexist," he said, shaking his head.

From "Eleanor & Park" by Rainbow Rowell

The band's social justice stance was made abundantly clear in the liner notes for the 1992 compilation Incesticide, which warned sexists, racists and homophobes would not be welcome to sweat in their particular mosh pit.

From Salon ● Sep. 24, 2021

The performer has just tried out for a role as the first major gay superhero in a Hollywood feature, an avenger “who fights racists, sexists and homophobes.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2020

“Because they were. Or sexists, because they were. The law they drafted promises equal protection of the laws to all persons. That’s what they wrote.”

From New York Times ● Mar. 22, 2017

In a new, meticulously researched biography, “A Rather Haunted Life,” Ruth Franklin sets out to rescue Jackson from the sexists and the genre snobs who have consigned her to a dungeon of kooky, spooky middlebrow-ness.

From The New Yorker ● Oct. 10, 2016

And I don’t mean to say the world is filled with racists or sexists or homophobes.

From "Ask the Passengers" by A.S. King

Related Words

• bigoted
• discriminatory
• dogmatic
• intolerant
• intransigent
• one-sided
• opinionated
• racist
• xenophobic