sisterhood

S1I1S1T1E1R1H4O1O1D2
UK/ˈsɪstə.hʊd/US/ˈsɪstɚˌhʊd/

noun

The state, or kinship of being sisters.

Meanings

nounsisterhood (countable and uncountable, plural sisterhoods)

plural sisterhoods

  1. countableuncountableThe state, or kinship of being sisters.

    Synonyms: sistership

  2. countableuncountableThe quality of being sisterly; sisterly companionship; especially, the sense that women have of being in solidarity with one another.
  3. countableuncountableA religious society of women.

    In contrast, she said, women join sisterhoods and do volunteer work for Jewish fundraising organizations that are run and dominated by men.

    1975 April 21, Eleanor Blau, “Feminists Decry the Role Of Women in Jewish Life”, in The New York Times
  4. countableuncountablefeminismThe idea of universal experience amongst women, regardless of other traits or factors. (Considered obsolete in third-wave feminism.)

    In a terrible way, I’ve never felt more part of a sisterhood or more certain that pain is shared within that family.

    2024 November 16, Naomi Beinart, “I’m 16. On Nov. 6 the Girls Cried, and the Boys Played Minecraft.”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 19 Nov 2024
    1 more example

    What does the rallying cry of sisterhood and the concept of feminism mean when last year, the majority of white, female voters chose whiteness as a political identity over womanhood?

    2017 September 23, Kaitlyn Greenidge, “‘Sisterhood’ Felt Meaningless. So My Sisters and I Got in the Car.”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 03 Nov 2018

    Synonyms: womanhood

Synonyms & antonyms

nounThe state, or kinship of being sisters.

Similar

nounThe idea of universal experience amongst women, regardless of other traits or factors. (Considered obsolete in third-wave feminism.)

Similar

More synonyms by meaning

nounthe kinship relation between a female offspring and the siblings

Similar
Broader
kinshipfamily relationshiprelationship

nounan association or society of women who are linked together by a common religion or trade or interest

Similar

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Middle Englishsusterhede
  2. Englishsisterhood

From Middle English susterhede; equivalent to sister + -hood (with a modification in the suffix).

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian се́стринство, женско общество
  • се́стринство (séstrinstvo)state of being sisters
  • женско общество (žensko obštestvo)religious society of women
Czech sesterství
  • sesterstvístate of being sisters
Dutch zusterschap, zusterschap
  • zusterschapstate of being sisters
  • zusterschapquality of being sisterly
Finnish sisaruus, sisaruus
  • sisaruusstate of being sisters
  • sisaruusquality of being sisterly
  • sisaristoreligious society of women
French sororité, sororité
  • sororitéstate of being sisters
  • sororitéquality of being sisterly
German Schwesterschaft, Schwesterschaft
  • Schwesterschaftstate of being sisters
  • Schwesterschaftquality of being sisterly
  • Schwesternschaftreligious society of women
  • Frauenordenreligious society of women
Latin sororitas
  • sororitasstate of being sisters
Portuguese sororidade, sororidade
  • sororidadestate of being sisters
  • sororidadequality of being sisterly
  • sororidadefeminism: the idea of universal experience amongst women
Russian се́стринство
  • се́стринство (séstrinstvo)state of being sisters
Spanish sororidad
  • sororidadfeminism: the idea of universal experience amongst women
Swedish systerskap, systerskap
  • systerskapstate of being sisters
  • systerskapquality of being sisterly
  • systerskapreligious society of women
Cite this entry
APA

sisterhood. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sisterhood

MLA

“sisterhood.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sisterhood. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “sisterhood,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sisterhood.

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