feminist

feminist — noun

IPA/ˈfem.ɪ.nɪst/
KK[fˈɛmənɪst]IPA/ˈfem.ə.nɪst/
  • feministsingular
  • feministsplural

1. someone who believes that women and men should have the same rights and chances

1.nounB2
Definition

someone who believes that women and men should have the same rights and chances in life, and who takes action to help make this happen in society.

Example

The novelist is a well-known feminist who writes about gender equality in her books.

defined in context: writes about gender equality

Sahil joined the feminist group at his university after taking a women's studies course.

Common collocations
  • outspoken feminist
  • feminist writer
  • feminist activist
  • feminist movement
  • feminist scholar
Synonyms
  • activist

    emphasises taking direct action; a feminist may or may not be an activist, while an activist may work on causes beyond gender equality

  • advocate

    focuses on public support for a cause; more general and less identity-based than feminist

  • women's rights supporter

    more descriptive phrase rather than a label; narrower in referring specifically to women rather than all genders

Antonyms
  • sexist

    someone who judges or treats people unfairly based on gender, directly opposite to the belief in equality

  • chauvinist

    someone who believes their own gender is superior, often used of extreme male chauvinism

Usage Note

Frequently used both as a self-chosen label and as a description by others. A person of any gender can be a feminist. In written Taiwan Chinese, 女性主義 (nǚxìng zhǔyì) is more common in academic contexts, while 女權主義 (nǚquán zhǔyì) carries a slightly more activist tone.

Common Mistakes

Feminists hate men and want women to rule the world.
Feminists believe that women and men should have equal rights and opportunities.
Feminism advocates for equality, not superiority or hostility toward any gender.
He cannot be a feminist because he is a man.
Sahil is a feminist who believes in equal opportunities for everyone.
A person of any gender can hold feminist beliefs and support gender equality.

feminist — adjective

IPA/ˈfemənɪst/
KK[fˈɛmənɪst]IPA/ˈfemənɪst/

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

A feminist is someone who believes in and works toward gender equality, specifically for women, and the word functions both as a personal identity and a descriptive label. An activist takes direct action — organizing, protesting, campaigning — for any cause; a feminist may be an activist but need not be. An advocate publicly supports a cause through speaking or writing but may not engage in on-the-ground action. A crusader is more informal and suggests passionate, sometimes stubborn, dedication to a cause, with a slightly older-fashioned tone. For example: "She is a feminist who examines gender roles in literature" vs. "She is an activist who organized the march" vs. "She is an advocate for paid parental leave."

feminist ↗activist ↗advocate ↗crusader

Common collocations

Nouns

  • feminist movement
  • feminist writer
  • feminist theory
  • feminist perspective
  • feminist activism

Adverbs

  • strongly feminist
  • fiercely feminist

Phrases

  • gender equality
  • women's rights
  • equal opportunities

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

The word feminist comes from French féministe, first used in the 1830s. The French word was built from Latin femina meaning 'woman,' with the suffix -iste ('-ist') meaning someone who holds a particular belief. English borrowed the term in the 1850s, and it gained wide use during the women's suffrage movements of the late 1800s and early 1900s. The meaning has expanded over time to include the broader idea of gender equality, not only women's legal and political rights.