chauvinism

noun

chau·​vin·​ism ˈshō-və-ˌni-zəm 

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 chauvinism

—Elizabeth Fuller

chauvinist

ˈshō-və-nist 

noun or adjective

chauvinistic

ˌshō-və-ˈni-stik 

adjective

chauvinistically

ˌshō-və-ˈni-sti-k(ə-)lē 

adverb

Synonyms

• nationalism
• patriotism
• jingoism

Examples of chauvinism in a Sentence

their ingrained chauvinism has blinded them to their country's faults

Recent Examples on the Web

This moment of intrafamily chauvinism unspools into a broader consideration of the patriarchy at work. —Lovia Gyarkye, IndieWire, 19 Aug. 2025

My West Coast chauvinism crumbled during a recent tour of New England beer and baseball. —Peter Rowe, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 Aug. 2025

Jews and other immigrants from southern and eastern Europe were disproportionately targeted, highlighting the cultural affinities between anti-radicalism and racial and ethnic chauvinism. —Rick Baldoz, The Conversation, 30 Apr. 2025

The national community could be knit together without indulging the chauvinism of belligerence. —Gideon Lewis-Kraus, The New Yorker, 19 Feb. 2025

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

Phrases Containing chauvinism

• male chauvinism

Rhymes for chauvinism

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

Kids Definition

chauvinism

noun

chau·​vin·​ism ˈshō-və-ˌniz-əm 

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

-və-nəst 

noun or adjective

chauvinistic adjective

chauvinistically adverb

Etymology

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