femicide

noun

fem·​i·​cide ˈfe-mə-ˌsīd How to pronounce femicide (audio)
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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
And earlier this year, the administration of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva announced a multipronged effort involving the executive, legislative and judiciary powers to combat femicide. Eléonore Hughes, Los Angeles Times, 9 Mar. 2026 But this document, which compelled me to interrogate my past more fully, unlocked the doors for a discussion on gender violence in my family history, most urgently the history of my sister’s femicide. Literary Hub, 10 Feb. 2026 Her family was preparing to stage a protest at that site today, to call attention to her unsolved murder case, and the thousands of other South African women who have been victims of femicide and gender-based violence. Zanele Mji, Time, 21 Nov. 2025 Last year, there were 116 cases of femicide, according to Non Una Di Meno, a slight decrease from the previous two years. Barbie Latza Nadeau, CNN Money, 18 Nov. 2025 See All Example Sentences for femicide

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of femicide was in 1976

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Femicide.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/femicide. Accessed 16 Mar. 2026.

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