TERFism

T1E1R1F4I1S1M3

noun

The beliefs on trans people held by TERFs (trans-exclusionary radical feminists).

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Meanings

nounTERFism (uncountable)
  1. derogatoryuncountableusuallyThe beliefs on trans people held by TERFs (trans-exclusionary radical feminists).

    TERFism is clearly unpopular with Zillennials.

    2019, Robby Soave, Panic Attack: Young Radicals in the Age of Trump, unnumbered page
    2 more examples

    Contemporary TERFism, or trans exclusive radical feminism, extends such arguments to deny the validity of transgender identities.

    2018, Aniruddha Dutta, “Allegories of Gender: Transgender Autology versus Transracialism”, in Atlantis: Critical Studies in Gender, Culture & Social Justice, volume 39, number 2, page 90

    The validation always comes after the lifelong internalization of transphobic messages we see constantly promulgated in the mainstream media, the numbing regularity of TERFism being splashed across op-ed pages and uttered by prominent feminists, […]

    2019, Rachel Anne Williams, Transgressive: A Trans Woman on Gender, Feminism, and Politics, page 239

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
gender-critical feminism

Origin

From TERF + -ism.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

French TERFisme
  • TERFismeTranslations
Polish TERFizm
  • TERFizmTranslations
Cite this entry
APA

TERFism. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/TERFism

MLA

“TERFism.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/TERFism. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “TERFism,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/TERFism.

Source: TERFism on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.