femicide

noun

fem·​i·​cide ˈfe-mə-ˌsīd 

plural femicides

: the gender-based murder of a woman or girl by a man

There have been calls for a "national shutdown" to protest femicide in South Africa.

—Africa Check

… speaks to a generation of young people fed up with femicides, sexual assault, and the ever more pervasive violence in Mexico.

—Cody Copeland

Examples of femicide in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In fact, according to official data from Mexico’s National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI), an average of 10 femicides occur every day in the country. —The Glamour Editors, Glamour, 8 Mar. 2025

At the same time, intimate partner violence has increased, and Honduras, Mexico, and Turkey have seen significant increases in femicide. —Erica Chenoweth, Foreign Affairs, 8 Feb. 2022

Malta is as perfectly safe–idyllic–as any place can be, but that doesn’t mean its exempt from crime, violence, and femicide. —Chadd Scott, Forbes, 3 Mar. 2025

However, the murder of a woman is not necessarily a femicide. —Betiana Fernández Martino, CNN, 1 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

femi- (in Latin fēmina "woman") + -cide (after homicide) — more at feminine entry 1

First Known Use

1976, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for femicide

• actinide
• aldehyde
• alkoxide
• alongside
• amplified
• arsenide
• beautified
• biocide
• butoxide
• calcified
• ceramide
• certified