Meanings
plural chauvinisms
- countablederogatoryuncountableExcessive patriotism, eagerness for national superiority; jingoism.
(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.
- countablederogatoryuncountableUnwarranted bias, favoritism, or devotion to one's own particular group, cause, or idea.
Feminists say that male chauvinism is still prevalent in cultures worldwide.
1 more example
“This is an outrageous example of unconscious racial chauvinism!” Jack said.
1952, Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man, Penguin Books (2014), page 312
Synonyms & antonyms
nounactivity indicative of belief in the superiority of men over women
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Frenchchauvinisme“idealistic devotion to Napoleon”
- Englishchauvinism
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.
More words from French
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic شُوفِينِيَّة, شُوفِينِّيَّة
- شُوفِينِيَّة (šūfīniyya)excessive patriotism
- شُوفِينِّيَّة (šufinniyya)unwarranted bias
Bulgarian шовинизъм
- шовинизъм (šovinizăm)excessive patriotism
Catalan xovinisme
- xovinismeexcessive patriotism
Chinese Mandarin 沙文主義 /沙文主义, 盲目的愛國心 /盲目的爱国心
- 沙文主義 /沙文主义 (shāwénzhǔyì)excessive patriotism
- 盲目的愛國心 /盲目的爱国心 (mángmù de àiguóxīn)excessive patriotism
- 沙文主義 /沙文主义 (shāwénzhǔyì)unwarranted bias
Czech šovinismus, šovinizmus
- šovinismusexcessive patriotism
- šovinizmusexcessive patriotism
- šovinismusunwarranted bias
- šovinizmusunwarranted bias
Danish chauvinisme
- chauvinismeexcessive patriotism
Dutch chauvinisme
- chauvinismeexcessive patriotism
Esperanto ŝovinismo
- ŝovinismoexcessive patriotism
Estonian marurahvuslus, šovinism
- marurahvuslusexcessive patriotism
- šovinismexcessive patriotism
- šovinismunwarranted bias
Finnish kiihkokansallisuus, kansalliskiihko
- kiihkokansallisuusexcessive patriotism
- kansalliskiihkoexcessive patriotism
- sovinismiunwarranted bias
- šovinismiunwarranted bias
French chauvinisme, chauvinisme
- chauvinismeexcessive patriotism
- chauvinismeunwarranted bias
German Chauvinismus, Hurrapatriotismus
- Chauvinismusexcessive patriotism
- Hurrapatriotismusexcessive patriotism
- Hurra-Patriotismusexcessive patriotism
- Chauvinismusunwarranted bias
Greek σωβινισμός, υπερεθνικοφροσύνη
- σωβινισμός (sovinismós)excessive patriotism
- υπερεθνικοφροσύνη (yperethnikofrosýni)excessive patriotism
- υπερεθνικισμός (yperethnikismós)excessive patriotism
- σωβινισμός (sovinismós)unwarranted bias
Hebrew שׁוֹבִינִיזְם, שׁוֹבִינִיזְם
- שׁוֹבִינִיזְם (shovinizm)excessive patriotism
- שׁוֹבִינִיזְם (shovinizm)unwarranted bias
Hindi अंध-देशभक्ति
- अंध-देशभक्ति (andh-deśbhakti)excessive patriotism
Hungarian sovinizmus, magyarkodás
- sovinizmusexcessive patriotism
- magyarkodásexcessive patriotism
- mélymagyarkodásexcessive patriotism
- sovinizmusunwarranted bias
- elfogultságunwarranted bias
Indonesian sauvinisme
- sauvinismeexcessive patriotism
Irish seobhaineachas
- seobhaineachasunwarranted bias
Italian sciovinismo
- sciovinismoexcessive patriotism
Japanese ショービニズム
- ショービニズム (shōbinizumu)excessive patriotism
Korean 쇼비니즘
- 쇼비니즘 (syobinijeum)excessive patriotism
Latvian šovinisms
- šovinismsexcessive patriotism
Lithuanian šovinizmas
- šovinizmasexcessive patriotism
Malay cauvinisme
- cauvinismeexcessive patriotism
Norwegian Bokmål sjåvinisme
- sjåvinismeexcessive patriotism
Persian شوونیسم
- شوونیسم (šowvanism)excessive patriotism
Polish szowinizm, szowinizm
- szowinizmexcessive patriotism
- szowinizmunwarranted bias
Portuguese chauvinismo, chauvinismo
- chauvinismoexcessive patriotism
- chauvinismounwarranted bias
Romanian șovinism, șovinism
- șovinismexcessive patriotism
- șovinismunwarranted bias
Russian шовини́зм, шовини́зм
- шовини́зм (šovinízm)excessive patriotism
- шовини́зм (šovinízm)unwarranted bias
Slovak šovinizmus
- šovinizmusexcessive patriotism
Spanish chovinismo, patrioterismo
- chovinismoexcessive patriotism
- patrioterismoexcessive patriotism
- chovinismounwarranted bias
Swedish chauvinism, chauvinism
- chauvinismexcessive patriotism
- chauvinismunwarranted bias
Thai ลัทธิคลั่งชาติ
- ลัทธิคลั่งชาติexcessive patriotism
Turkish şovenizm
- şovenizmexcessive patriotism
Ukrainian шовіні́зм
- шовіні́зм (šovinízm)excessive patriotism
Vietnamese chủ nghĩa sô-vanh
- chủ nghĩa sô-vanhexcessive patriotism
Cite this entry
chauvinism. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/chauvinism
“chauvinism.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/chauvinism. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “chauvinism,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/chauvinism.
Source: chauvinism on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.