chauvinism

noun

chau·​vin·​ism ˈshō-və-ˌni-zəm How to pronounce chauvinism (audio)
1
: an attitude of superiority toward members of the opposite sex
male chauvinism
also : behavior expressive of such an attitude
2
: undue partiality or attachment to a group or place to which one belongs or has belonged
regional chauvinism
3
: excessive or blind patriotism compare jingoism
his fervent nationalism mutated into blatant chauvinismElizabeth Fuller
chauvinist noun or adjective
chauvinistic adjective
chauvinistically adverb

Examples of chauvinism in a Sentence

their ingrained chauvinism has blinded them to their country's faults
Recent Examples on the Web Men turn up in just a tiny handful — a 2010 series on the Christian origin story of Adam and Eve — but only to clarify the structural foundations of routine, often unacknowledged chauvinism. Christopher Knight, Los Angeles Times, 16 Feb. 2024 In the major league of KVN, Zelensky came face-to-face with a brand of Russian chauvinism that would, in far uglier form, manifest itself about two decades later in the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Simon Shuster, TIME, 4 Jan. 2024 But less overt acts of indifference and cultural chauvinism also cut deep. Karla L. Miller, Washington Post, 30 Nov. 2023 Sexism and chauvinism are on display throughout the book. Wesley Morris, New York Times, 7 Nov. 2023 That has been a disappointment for some in a country where women say they are still greeted with chauvinism by employers who see themselves as — and are often treated as — all powerful benefactors and patrons, regarding them as objects of amusement or flirtation. Jason Horowitz, New York Times, 9 Nov. 2023 But even McMurtry’s repudiations have a funny way of reaffirming Texas chauvinism. Rachel Monroe, The New Yorker, 18 Sep. 2023 That largeness of spirit was of a piece with Liszt’s cosmopolitanism, which resisted the national chauvinism endemic to nineteenth-century music. Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 4 Sep. 2023 Whereas patriotism reflects pride in community and place, nationalism turns pride into chauvinism and seeks to make a community insular and exclusive. Ro Khanna, Foreign Affairs, 20 Dec. 2022

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'chauvinism.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

French chauvinisme, from Nicolas Chauvin, character noted for his excessive patriotism and devotion to Napoleon in Théodore and Hippolyte Cogniard's play La Cocarde tricolore (1831)

First Known Use

1851, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Time Traveler
The first known use of chauvinism was in 1851

Dictionary Entries Near chauvinism

Cite this Entry

“Chauvinism.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chauvinism. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

chauvinism

noun
chau·​vin·​ism ˈshō-və-ˌniz-əm How to pronounce chauvinism (audio)
1
: exaggerated or unthinking patriotism
2
: an attitude that the members of one's own sex are always better than those of the opposite sex
also : behavior that shows such an attitude
chauvinist noun or adjective
chauvinistic adjective
chauvinistically adverb
Etymology

from French chauvinisme "chauvinism," named for Nicholas Chauvin, a character in a play

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