femicide
1 synonym for femicide, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.
Noun — The act of killing a woman or girl on account of her gender, typically carried out by a man out of misogyny.
Synonyms
Rare, literary or technical
Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.
gynocide
How to use femicide
The word patterns that sound natural to a native speaker.
rise in femicide
femicide rate
victim of femicide
femicide laws
The word is formal and mainly appears in legal, academic and news contexts rather than everyday speech.
Etymology
The word combines fem-, taken from the Latin fēmina meaning woman, with the suffix -icide, which denotes killing. It follows the same pattern as homicide and genocide.
Full origin of femicide →Frequently asked questions
What does femicide mean?
It refers to the killing of a woman or girl specifically because of her sex or gender, often by a man driven by misogyny.
How is femicide different from homicide?
Femicide is a specific form of homicide where the killing is motivated by the victim's sex or gender, rather than a general term for any killing.
Is femicide a legal term?
Yes, some countries have made femicide a distinct offence in law, separate from general homicide charges.
