mansplain

man·splain
M3A1N1S1P3L1A1I1N1
UK/ˈmanˌspleɪn/US/ˈmænˌspleɪn/

verb

To explain (something) condescendingly (to a female listener), especially to explain something the listener already knows, presuming that she has an inferior understanding of it merely because she is female.

Scrabble 13

Meanings

verbmansplain (third-person singular simple present mansplains, present participle mansplaining, simple past and past participle mansplained)

present singular third person mansplains · participle present mansplaining · participle past mansplained · past mansplained

  1. derogatoryinformalTo explain (something) condescendingly (to a female listener), especially to explain something the listener already knows, presuming that she has an inferior understanding of it merely because she is female.

    But what's getting all of the attention in the bill is the part where legislators have banded together to mansplain the various shadings of the crime of "rape" to America.

    2011 February 1, Jason Linkins, “What’s behind the drive to redefine rape in new and insane ways?”, in The Huffington Post, archived from the original on 01 Apr 2016
    2 more examples

    There were some Occupy-style solutions: those whose voices dominate should “step back” for an entire meeting. […] Men should notice when they are “mansplaining” (this one got a thunderous ovation).

    2012 May 18, Sarah Seltzer, “Can Occupy fight back against the war on women?”, in The Nation, archived from the original on 14 Aug 2013

    Positioning himself as the white guy mansplaining to a black woman what’s best for her, The New York Times’s John Caramanica argues that Rihanna’s attempt, on the album, “to make public art with the person who physically abused you is immature, pre-feminist, post-ethics.”

    2015 February 27, Robin James, Resilience & Melancholy: Pop Music, Feminism, Neoliberalism, Alresford, Hants: Zero Books, →ISBN

Origin

Translations

Afrikaans manspliseer
  • manspliseerTranslations
French mecspliquer, pénispliquer
  • mecspliquerTranslations
  • pénispliquerTranslations
German herrklären, mansplainen
  • herrklärenTranslations
  • mansplainenTranslations
Greek ανδρεξηγώ
  • ανδρεξηγώ (andrexigó)Translations
Hebrew הִסְגְּבִּיר
  • הִסְגְּבִּיר (hisgbír)Translations
Polish panjaśnić
  • panjaśnićTranslations
Spanish machoexplicar
  • machoexplicarTranslations
Swedish mansplaina
  • mansplainaTranslations

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with mansplain

All rhymes →

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

mansplain. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mansplain

MLA

“mansplain.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mansplain. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “mansplain,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mansplain.

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