suffragist

American  

[suhf-ruh-jist] / ˈsʌf rə dʒɪst /

noun

1. an advocate of the grant or extension of political suffrage, especially to women.

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suffragist British  

/ ˈsʌfrədʒɪst /

noun

1. an advocate of the extension of the franchise, esp to women

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suffragist Cultural  

1. A participant in the women's movement to win voting rights in the United States. The fight for women's suffrage was organized in the middle of the nineteenth century. Wyoming, while not yet a state, granted women's suffrage in 1869, though the struggle for universal suffrage was to last another fifty years. In 1920, the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified, guaranteeing that no state could deny the right to vote on the basis of sex.

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Other Word Forms

• antisuffragist noun
• suffragism noun
• suffragistically adverb

Etymology

Origin of suffragist

First recorded in 1815–25; suffrage + -ist

Compare meaning

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

• suffragist vs. suffragette

Example Sentences

Ms. Gray is the author of “Nellie McClung,” a biography of Canada’s best known suffragist.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 28, 2025

Consider the Haitian Revolution, American abolitionist movement, and suffragist campaigns: history shows that morally expansive recognition of rights, even to beings considered “property,” often aligns with broader human liberation.

From Salon • May 17, 2025

The family and Perkins shared a mutual contact: reformer and suffragist Gertrude Ely, of Pennsylvania.

From Slate • Jan. 26, 2025

A long line of queer women — from Susan B. Anthony to Jeanne Córdova to Kitty Cone — have played pivotal roles in the suffragist, feminist, women’s rights, disability rights and reproductive rights movements.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 6, 2024

“When you ask her a question, there ensues, on her part, a moment of stillness so profound you can almost hear it,” another suffragist said.

From "Votes for Women!" by Winifred Conkling

Related Words

• citizen
• resident
• taxpayer