manifesto

1 of 2

noun

man·​i·​fes·​to ˌma-nə-ˈfe-(ˌ)stō 

plural manifestos or manifestoes

: a written statement declaring publicly the intentions, motives, or views of its issuer

The group's manifesto focused on helping the poor and stopping violence.

manifesto

2 of 2

verb

manifestoed; manifestoing; manifestos

intransitive verb

: to issue a manifesto

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Manifesto Has Latin Roots

Manifesto is related to manifest, which occurs in English as a noun, verb, and adjective. Of these, the adjective, which means "readily perceived by the senses," is oldest, dating to the 14th century. Both manifest and manifesto derive ultimately from the Latin noun manus ("hand") and -festus, a combining form of uncertain meaning that is also found in the Latin adjective infestus ("hostile"), an ancestor of the English infest. Something that is manifest is easy to perceive or recognize, and a manifesto is a statement in which someone makes his or her intentions or views easy for people to ascertain. Perhaps the most well-known statement of this sort is the Communist Manifesto, written in 1848 by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels to outline the platform of the Communist League.

Examples of manifesto in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The party’s manifesto also calls for segregated classes, with refugee children taught separately by other refugees, and teaching designed to convey the message that staying in Germany is temporary. — Sophie Tanno, CNN Money, 7 Sep. 2026

Andy Burnham and his chancellor are constrained by costly rising debt – interest on debt costs more than the defence, Home Office and justice departments combined – rigid fiscal rules, and Labour’s manifesto pledge not to raise the three main taxes. — The Week Uk, TheWeek, 7 Sep. 2026

Investigators quickly discovered that Hollander’s motives may have centered around his lawsuits, online postings and manifestos that denounced feminism and promoted the men’s rights movement. — Caroline Blair, PEOPLE, 5 Sep. 2026

Mangione is the 27-year-old accused of killing the chief executive of UnitedHealthcare and touted by some as a sort of folk hero for his anticapitalist manifesto. — Los Angeles Times, 3 Sep. 2026

The indictment alleges Santiago agreed before the attack to record and distribute the gunmen’s livestream and publish their manifesto. — Sophia Compton, FOXNews.com, 1 Sep. 2026

The African National Congress’ 2026 local government elections manifesto pledges free basic services to nearly 30 million people — water, electricity, sanitation, garbage removal. — Tiisetso Motsoeneng, semafor.com, 24 Aug. 2026

The generation that writes TikTok manifestos about billionaire greed and the widening wealth gap has somehow, simultaneously, made the aesthetics of extreme wealth concentration its dominant cultural fantasy. — Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 14 Aug. 2026

The feds’ case alleged that Mangione had stalked the executive for weeks and laid out plans to kill him in a manifesto that lamented greed in the health insurance industry at the expense of everyday Americans’ well-being. — Molly Crane-Newman, New York Daily News, 14 Aug. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun and Verb

Italian, denunciation, manifest, from manifestare to manifest, from Latin, from manifestus

First Known Use

Noun

1620, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1748, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for manifesto

• adagio
• altiplano
• arapaho
• arapahoe
• fortissimo
• minangkabau
• oregano
• ostinato
• pistachio
• politico
• portfolio
• presidio

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Kids Definition

manifesto

noun

man·​i·​fes·​to

ˌman-ə-ˈfes-tō

plural manifestos or manifestoes

: a public declaration of intentions or views