sexism

noun

sex·ism ˈsek-ˌsi-zəm

: prejudice or discrimination based on sex

especially : discrimination against women

: behavior, conditions, or attitudes that foster stereotypes of social roles based on sex

sexist

ˈsek-sist

adjective or noun

Example Sentences

the problem of sexism in language

Recent Examples on the Web We're meant to see two souls united by their respective hard lots—her a disturbed victim of institutional sexism, him a Black man tormented by skinheads in Thatcher's Britain. —

A.a. Dowd, Chron, 8 Dec. 2022 The resulting images pulse like ticking time bombs, their subjects encased under layers of tropical sexism and very near ready to explode. —

Lori Waxman, Chicago Tribune, 18 Nov. 2022 In the aftermath, several women also came forward to describe a department steeped in sexism that affected both how female victims and female staffers were treated for years. —

Courtney Tanner, The Salt Lake Tribune, 1 Nov. 2022 Prompted by a perfect storm of my mom’s terminal illness and my employer’s savage institutional sexism, the decision had shocked many but also made way for my writing dreams to come true. —

Sarah Smarsh, Harper’s Magazine , 26 Oct. 2022 But the takedowns of male sexism in this 2020 adaptation — including a writ-large parallel between the patriarchy and a certain fanged fiend — are repetitive and obvious. —

Celia Wren, Washington Post, 25 Oct. 2022 In a September interview with Elle, Bündchen agreed with the writer’s assertion that such a depiction is rooted in sexism. —

Anna Grace Lee, BostonGlobe.com, 10 Oct. 2022 What does the genre say about institutional sexism? —

Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 26 Jan. 2022 The 63-year-old has also long been one of the leading voices in openly discussing sexism in the entertainment industry. —

Sara Stewart, CNN, 19 June 2022 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'sexism.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.