# feminism

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈfɛmɪnɪz(ə)m/ · frequency rank #8,928

## Definitions
1. The state of being feminine; femininity.
2. A 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.

## Etymology
From French féminisme circa 1837, ultimately from Latin fēminīnus, from fēmina (“woman”). First recorded in English in 1851, originally meaning "the state of being feminine." Sense of "advocacy of women's rights" is from 1895.

## Easily confused with
- **feminist** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/feminism-vs-feminist)
- **feminists** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/feminism-vs-feminists)
- **feminine** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/feminine-vs-feminism)

## Common misspellings (12)
`efminism`, `feimnism`, `femiinsm`, `feminims`, `feminismm`, `feminissm`, `feminnism`, `feminsim`, `femminism`, `femniism`, `ffeminism`, `fmeinism`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/feminism