manifesto

1 of 2

noun

man·​i·​fes·​to ˌma-nə-ˈfe-(ˌ)stō 

plural manifestos or manifestoes

: a written statement declaring publicly the intentions, motives, or views of its issuer

The group's manifesto focused on helping the poor and stopping violence.

manifesto

2 of 2

verb

manifestoed; manifestoing; manifestos

intransitive verb

: to issue a manifesto

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Manifesto Has Latin Roots

Manifesto is related to manifest, which occurs in English as a noun, verb, and adjective. Of these, the adjective, which means "readily perceived by the senses," is oldest, dating to the 14th century. Both manifest and manifesto derive ultimately from the Latin noun manus ("hand") and -festus, a combining form of uncertain meaning that is also found in the Latin adjective infestus ("hostile"), an ancestor of the English infest. Something that is manifest is easy to perceive or recognize, and a manifesto is a statement in which someone makes his or her intentions or views easy for people to ascertain. Perhaps the most well-known statement of this sort is the Communist Manifesto, written in 1848 by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels to outline the platform of the Communist League.

Examples of manifesto in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

How have the people of Clacton reacted to your manifesto, and to your campaign in general? — Richard Hall, Time, 12 Aug. 2026

In a sweeping 6,500-word manifesto published Monday, Zuckerberg declared that the biggest risk of AI is that if one government or a few companies amass too much control over the technology, democracy could be hurt. — Los Angeles Times, 12 Aug. 2026

On Monday, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg published a lengthy manifesto arguing for open-source AI, as his company released a coding model called Muse Spark. — Kif Leswing, CNBC, 11 Aug. 2026

Zuckerberg also published a lengthy manifesto laying out his vision and approach to AI, attempting to assuage wide-ranging concerns about AI as the company combats criticisms about its data center buildout and AI smart glasses. — Lisa Eadicicco, CNN Money, 10 Aug. 2026

There’s also Anne Carson’s 2005 collection of poetry and essays, Decreation, and the French leftist manifesto The Coming Insurrection published in 2007 by an anonymous author known as The Invisible Committee. — Selena Fragassi, SPIN, 5 Aug. 2026

In her later years, Lessing distanced herself from the feminist movement and disavowed The Golden Notebook’s reputation as a feminist manifesto. — Cynthia Zarin, Harpers Magazine, 4 Aug. 2026

Joanne Miller is a fictional agent who in the film leads the manhunt for the adult Ted and uses the words in the Unabomber’s manifesto to track him down. — Brian Truitt, USA Today, 29 July 2026

In the long run, the album became a manifesto of somebody who’s 76 years old looking back, reflecting, and just a little bit pissed off at the world. — Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 28 July 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun and Verb

Italian, denunciation, manifest, from manifestare to manifest, from Latin, from manifestus

First Known Use

Noun

1620, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1748, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for manifesto

• adagio
• altiplano
• arapaho
• arapahoe
• fortissimo
• minangkabau
• oregano
• ostinato
• pistachio
• politico
• portfolio
• presidio

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Kids Definition

manifesto

noun

man·​i·​fes·​to

ˌman-ə-ˈfes-tō

plural manifestos or manifestoes

: a public declaration of intentions or views