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

Feminist network This growth in opportunities for Orthodox women is the result of a network of Orthodox feminists working across borders since the 1970s. —Michal Raucher, The Conversation, 30 Apr. 2026

Both have taught me immeasurably how to be a better feminist. —Chicago Tribune, 19 Apr. 2026

Adjective

An unexpected new burst of infamy arrived in 2011, when the motto appeared at SlutWalk NYC, a feminist protest, on a sign held by a protester—a white woman, as far as anyone could tell. —Kelefa Sanneh, New Yorker, 4 May 2026

Conversely, maybe the fact that their songs, while impressively self-possessed, weren’t directly confrontational has kept them from being counted as forebears to the feminist punks who would come after. —Marissa Lorusso, Pitchfork, 3 May 2026

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