feminist

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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

The observant prankster revealed how any feminists who hail the Academy’s berserk nomination are their own worst enemy. —Armond White, National Review, 5 Feb. 2025

The elder Richards was an outspoken feminist who was given to salty one-liners, and who was open about her struggle with alcoholism and her disdain for phoniness, even in her own party. —Jonathan Van Meter, Vogue, 20 Jan. 2025

Adjective

Early on, her allegiances are torn between her support of her deaf classmates and the feminist win represented by a woman being chosen to lead the university. —Peter Debruge, Variety, 3 Feb. 2025

This narrative of gendered injustice and the redemptive power of feminist history has an almost mythical force. —Jessica Winter, The New Yorker, 3 Feb. 2025

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