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.
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 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

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Cite this Entry

“Femicide.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/femicide. Accessed 23 May. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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