feminist

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noun

fem·​i·​nist ˈfe-mə-nist 

plural feminists

: a person who supports or engages in feminism

Similarly, Saint Thomas's resident nun, Sister Maureen (Ann Dowd), is no girlish cutie: She's an ardent, in-your-face feminist.

—Terrence Rafferty

He [Stendhal] was a feminist and … he held that to deprive women of education 'deprives society of half its potential for intellectual achievement'.

—V. S. Pritchett

feminist

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adjective

: of, relating to, supporting, or compatible with feminism

feminist theory

the feminist movement

The act of speaking is a way women come to power, telling our stories, sharing history, engaging in feminist discussion.

—bell hooks

[Patricia] Ireland, past president of the National Organization for Women, is perhaps the best-known former Pan Am flight attendant of the '60s; seven years working for the airline helped inspire her feminist activism, which included campaigning for the Equal Rights Amendment.

—Sarah Rose

Examples of feminist in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Franco is the sister of Marielle Franco, a Rio councilwoman, feminist and human rights activist who was assassinated in 2018. —Eléonore Hughes, Los Angeles Times, 9 Mar. 2026

Katie becomes a cause célèbre for a younger feminist and is mortified to see her face on T-shirts. —Judy Berman, Time, 5 Mar. 2026

Adjective

The two surviving sisters don’t seem like the types to want to be considered feminist heroines, but Kwapis’ lovely film is able to capture them as some of the most improbable icons in rock history as well as average New Englanders forever captured in an extraordinary circumstance. —Chris Willman, Variety, 15 Mar. 2026

Her mother, also born into this middle-class milieu, was a feminist writer and suffragist. —Colm Tóibín, The Atlantic, 14 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1887, in the meaning defined above

Adjective

1852, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing feminist

• anti-feminist
• pre-feminist
• trans-exclusionary radical feminist