Chauvinism
noun ·Moderate ·College level
Definitions
- 1 Excessive patriotism, eagerness for national superiority; jingoism. countable, derogatory, uncountable
"(C. S.) Lewis occasionally expressed a somewhat tongue-in-cheek chauvinism towards the English. Describing an encounter with a fellow Irishman, he wrote: "Like all Irish people who meet in England, we ended by criticisms on the invincible flippancy and dullness of the Anglo-Saxon race."
- 2 activity indicative of belief in the superiority of men over women wordnet
- 3 Unwarranted bias, favoritism, or devotion to one's own particular group, cause, or idea. countable, derogatory, uncountable
"Feminists say that male chauvinism is still prevalent in cultures worldwide."
- 4 fanatical patriotism wordnet
Example
More examples"His casual chauvinism was highly off-putting."
Etymology
Borrowed from French chauvinisme (“idealistic devotion to Napoleon”), named for Nicolas Chauvin, a legendary and excessively patriotic soldier of the French First Republic. The figure of Chauvin became especially famous as a character in the play La Cocarde Tricolore by the Cogniard brothers.
Related phrases
More for "chauvinism"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.