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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
Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 22 Nov. 2025
The men’s faces were exposed, video posted to social media reveals, and the speech one of them gave was considered – delivering a highly localized manifesto, showing both ambition and independence from other ISIS franchises, analysts have noted.
—Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Money, 21 Nov. 2025
While Crooks did not leave a manifesto, more social media accounts were discovered on various platforms.
—Jenny Goldsberry, The Washington Examiner, 19 Nov. 2025
Prosecutors say the Maniac Murder Cult's manifesto and solicitations online have inspired real-life killings, including a school shooting in Nashville, Tennessee.
—Tim McNicholas, CBS News, 18 Nov. 2025
That means drastically cutting spending or breaking a manifesto pledge not to raise certain taxes — or a combination of the two.
—Chloe Taylor,hugh Leask, CNBC, 17 Nov. 2025
Its manifesto centered on curtailment of the power of the railroads, federal loans to aid farmers in debt, and currency reform that entailed reintroducing Hamilton’s old silver dollar alongside the gold dollar to ease monetary conditions, which would give debtors a chance to clear their loans.
—David McWilliams, Fortune, 16 Nov. 2025
The former’s manifesto was an elaborate, long-gestating screed against modern technological society, and his bombing campaign killed three and injured twenty-three, including low-level university employees and people who happened to be aboard an American Airlines flight.
—Margaret Talbot, New Yorker, 15 Nov. 2025
Coleitha Banks – Go Solo (ESSENCE Winner) Founder of Sisters Traveling Solo and co-winner of the ESSENCE Writing Contest, Banks delivers a part-guide, part-manifesto on how solo travel transformed her life.
—Essence, 14 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Manifesto.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/manifesto. Accessed 28 Nov. 2025.
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