Terf

//tɚf// noun

noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A trans-exclusionary radical feminist; a radical feminist who does not consider trans women to be women, or thinks they should not be included in female spaces or organisations, and who considers trans men to be women; a person whose transphobia is expressed in feminist terms.

    "Dear “A Lesbian Democrat” Your TERF (trans-exclusionary radical feminist) agenda and what it represents is no better than the bigoted regressive agenda of the religious right."

  2. 2
    Abbreviation of telomeric repeat-binding factor. abbreviation, alt-of, countable, uncountable

    "TERF1, TERF2"

  3. 3
    Rare spelling of taraf. alt-of, rare

    "For quotations using this term, see Citations:terf."

  4. 4
    Alternative letter-case form of TERF. alt-of
  5. 5
    Abbreviation of terrain flight (“flight close to the ground, to avoid enemy detection or fire”). US, abbreviation, alt-of, countable, uncountable

    "A MAWTS qualified TERF instructor is required for all TERF instructional sorties."

Example

More examples

"The term "TERF," which stands for "trans-exclusionary radical feminist," was coined by a cis radical feminist."

Etymology

Etymology 1

Acronym of trans-exclusionary radical feminist. The earliest recorded use is from 2008 by trans-inclusive cisgender radical feminist Viv Smythe.

Etymology 2

Abbreviation.

Related phrases

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.