feminism

noun

fem·​i·​nism ˈfe-mə-ˌni-zəm 

: belief in and advocacy of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes expressed especially through organized activity on behalf of women's rights and interests

… feminism began in the late 1840s with the campaign for women's suffrage in America. The second wave came in the 1960s with the call for women's "liberation" and equality under the law. A third wave in the 1990s was more rebellious than reformist, more anarchically individualistic than disciplined and legalistic. Some think we are in the midst of a fourth wave, sustained by the internet and social media …

—The Economist (London)

feministic

ˌfe-mə-ˈni-stik 

adjective

Examples of feminism in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Steinem's version of feminism today is more aligned with Democrats at a time when, at least for now, the country has swung Republican. — ABC News, 5 Sep. 2026

Investigators quickly discovered that Hollander’s motives may have centered around his lawsuits, online postings and manifestos that denounced feminism and promoted the men’s rights movement. — Caroline Blair, PEOPLE, 5 Sep. 2026

Morgan was at the center of the some of the defining moments of what came to be called second-wave feminism, expanding upon the achievements of the suffragists a half-century earlier. — Hillel Italie, Los Angeles Times, 5 Sep. 2026

If the American family is viewed as a hierarchy with the male patriarch at the top, then feminism is democratizing that structure. — Gloria Steinem, Glamour, 4 Sep. 2026

Word History

Etymology

see feminine entry 1

First Known Use

1893, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing feminism

• trans exclusionary radical feminism

Rhymes for feminism

• autism
• fascism
• racism
• sikhism
• sophism
• statism
• sufism
• thomism
• tourism
• tropism
• abolitionism
• aldosteronism

Kids Definition

feminism

noun

fem·​i·​nism ˈfem-ə-ˌniz-əm 

1

: the theory supporting the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes

2

: organized activity on behalf of women's rights and interests

feminist

-nəst 

noun or adjective

feministic

ˌfem-ə-ˈnis-tik 

adjective

Medical Definition

feminism

noun

fem·​i·​nism ˈfem-ə-ˌniz-əm 

: the presence of female characteristics in males