Feminism Meaning
/ˈfɛmɪnɪz(ə)m/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounThe state of being feminine; femininity.
nounA social theory or political movement which argues that legal and social restrictions on women must be removed in order to bring about equality of the sexes in all aspects of public and private life.
Sentence Examples
From this you can conclude that feminism is still necessary.
And feminism, what do you think about feminism?
CEFR Practice Quiz
Many activists argue that ____ is essential for achieving equal pay in workplaces.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The goals of ____ include achieving equal rights and opportunities for women in all aspects of society.
Word Origin & History
From French féminisme circa 1837, ultimately from Latin fēminīnus, from fēmina (“woman”). In the original sense of “women's movement or advocacy”, the French word was probably directly derived from fēmina, as if from Neo-Latin feminismus. First recorded in English in 1851, originally meaning “the state of being feminine”. Sense of “advocacy of women's rights” is from 1895.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"His hair is delicate and silky, and of a light chesnut[sic]—one of M. Lorrain's signs of feminism."
— 1875 July 24, The Medical Times and Gazette, volume II, page 105:
"Women are still forbidden to smoke there... Ardent though we are in feminism, we applaud this stand..."
— 1926 November 27, “The Talk of the Town”, in The New Yorker, →ISSN, page 17:
"There are by now many feminisms (Tong, 1989; Humm, 1992). Alongside and often overlapping with older-identified distinctions between liberal, socialist, radical and cultural feminisms, for example (important as they are in their different accounts of sexual difference and gender power), are variously named black, third-world ethnic-minority feminisms, themselves far from homogenous."
— 1996, Jan Jindy Pettman, Worlding Women: A feminist international politics, page ix-x:
"Ooh! “Even the ladies!” #feminism #confedera-she !"
— 2017, Tim Carvell [et al.], “Confederacy”, in Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, season 4, episode 26, John Oliver (actor), Warner Bros. Television, via HBO:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
Many activists argue that ____ is essential for achieving equal pay in workplaces.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The goals of ____ include achieving equal rights and opportunities for women in all aspects of society.