feminist

1 of 2

noun

fem·​i·​nist ˈfe-mə-nist 

plural feminists

: a person who supports or engages in feminism

Similarly, Saint Thomas's resident nun, Sister Maureen (Ann Dowd), is no girlish cutie: She's an ardent, in-your-face feminist.

—Terrence Rafferty

He [Stendhal] was a feminist and … he held that to deprive women of education 'deprives society of half its potential for intellectual achievement'.

—V. S. Pritchett

feminist

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adjective

: of, relating to, supporting, or compatible with feminism

feminist theory

the feminist movement

The act of speaking is a way women come to power, telling our stories, sharing history, engaging in feminist discussion.

—bell hooks

[Patricia] Ireland, past president of the National Organization for Women, is perhaps the best-known former Pan Am flight attendant of the '60s; seven years working for the airline helped inspire her feminist activism, which included campaigning for the Equal Rights Amendment.

—Sarah Rose

Examples of feminist in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

In the classroom, Frannie acts like a liberal feminist. —Doreen St. Félix, The New Yorker, 21 Sep. 2024

At first, Esther is speaking to her antagonists: men who think that feminists need them in order to have someone to hate, liberals who turn their noses up at radicals, male students who belittle women writers. —Ilana Masad, The Atlantic, 9 Aug. 2024

Adjective

Through a feminist lens, Berila’s documentary delves into Adelina’s defiance against ethnic repression and patriarchal constraints, blending archival footage with the director’s own journey. —Callum McLennan, Variety, 27 Sep. 2024

While the women’s liberation movement of the 1960s and 1970s is remembered for bringing discussions of sexism to the forefront, its many policy successes were almost always grounded in equality feminist justifications and analyses. —Melissa Blair / Made By History, TIME, 26 Sep. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1887, in the meaning defined above

Adjective

1852, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing feminist

• anti-feminist
• pre-feminist
• trans exclusionary radical feminist