suffragette

noun suf·frag·ette \ ˌsə-fri-ˈjet \

|Updated on: 3 Aug 2018

Definition of suffragette

: a woman who advocates suffrage for women

See suffragette defined for English-language learners

Recent Examples of suffragette from the Web

Lucy Burns from Brooklyn and New Jersey Quaker Alice Paul, co-founders of the National Woman’s Party, took the most direct inspiration from the confrontational British suffragettes.

— joanna scutts, The New Republic, "The Fight Women Won," 20 Apr. 2018
The Equal Rights Amendment dates all the way back to the suffragette movement and Alice Paul, then head of the National Women's Party.

— abby gardner, Glamour, "The ERA Is Back in the News—This Is Why You Should Be Paying Attention," 12 June 2018
For centuries, black women have been fighting to expand voting rights, even over the direct opposition of some white women of the suffragette movement who fought to deny both black women and men the protections of the 19th amendment.

— aimee allison, Teen Vogue, "Women of Color Are Making Election History in 2018," 24 May 2018
America's celebrated suffragette along with numerous 19th and early 20th century historical figures (actual and fictional) might well have been speaking about what was said or promised, done or not done, in Washington, D.C., the day before.

— mark swed, latimes.com, "Opera UCLA proves Susan B. Anthony, more than ever, remains 'The Mother of Us All'," 21 May 2018
Britain’s suffragettes, who fought a daring and dangerous campaign for the vote more than a hundred years ago, believed the vote was the key to unlock the door to women’s freedom and redress the many inequalities in all areas of women’s lives.

— diane atkinson, Time, "Meghan Markle Should Walk Down the Aisle Alone and Not Pass From One 'Owner' to Another," 18 May 2018
Just last year, during Trump’s first presidential address to Congress, a group of Democratic women wore white in honor of suffragettes and Hillary Clinton’s historic run for the White House.

— torey van oot, Glamour, "For Women In Congress, the State Of The Union Is a #MeToo Moment," 30 Jan. 2018
From Alice Paul and her fellow suffragettes to Gloria Steinem and Shirley Chisholm, the list can read like a who's who of feminism.

— abby gardner, Glamour, "The ERA Is Back in the News—This Is Why You Should Be Paying Attention," 12 June 2018
The 15th Amendment’s passage in 1870, granting black men the right to vote, became a spur that politicized white women and turned them into suffragettes.

— constance grady, Vox, "The waves of feminism, and why people keep fighting over them, explained," 1 June 2018

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