What does suffragist mean?
A suffragist is someone who advocates political suffrage, especially the right of women to vote. Although now most closely associated with campaigns for women’s voting rights, suffragists could advocate suffrage more broadly. The word became especially prominent during the women’s suffrage movements of the late 19th and early 20th centuries in Britain, the United States, and elsewhere. Suffragists organized meetings, circulated petitions, lobbied governments, and sometimes joined civil-disobedience campaigns to secure voting rights for women. In Britain, the distinction between suffragist and suffragette mattered: suffragette referred more specifically to a militant member of the women’s suffrage movement, whereas suffragist was the broader, non-gendered term. Today, suffragist is chiefly a historical noun, but it remains common in accounts of those campaigns and in commemorations of their participants. The word carries a strongly political and activist connotation, recalling persistent advocacy despite official resistance and legal barriers to women’s participation in voting. It is therefore useful for understanding both the wider suffrage movement and the prominent role played by its militant wing.
nounA person who advocates political suffrage, especially the right of women to vote. The term is chiefly associated with the women’s suffrage movements of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
- A person who advocated the right to vote, especially a campaigner for women’s suffrage in the late 19th or early 20th century.
"Her grandmother was an energetic suffragist who organized meetings and petitioned Parliament for women’s voting rights."
"The museum preserves portraits of prominent suffragists who challenged the exclusion of women from the ballot."
"In her speech, the historian described each suffragist as part of a broad, often international campaign for political equality."
The regular plural is “suffragists.”
"Several suffragists addressed the crowd outside the parliament building."
For decades, suffragists fought for the vote before women in Britain gained equal voting rights in 1928.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does suffragist come from?
Suffragist was formed in English by adding the suffix “-ist” to suffrage, a word borrowed from French and ultimately from Latin suffragium, meaning a vote or support. The term developed during the 19th century as the women’s suffrage movement became an organized political cause. The related British word suffragette was coined in the early 20th century for the movement’s more militant members.
Related word forms
How suffragist is actually used
The term is chiefly historical and formal. It is a gender-neutral label that can refer more broadly to advocates of voting rights, although its best-known historical use concerns women.
Easily confused with suffragist
Suffragist was the broad, gender-neutral term for advocates of women’s voting rights, while suffragette specifically referred to members of the militant British women’s suffrage movement.