Mansplains

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Describes a man who explains something to a woman in a patronizing, condescending manner, often assuming she lacks knowledge
2. Speaks to a woman as though she cannot understand a subject, offering unwanted and patronizing explanations of it
3. Lectures a woman in an overbearing way about something she already knows, treating her as ignorant because of her gender

Etymology: "Mansplains" is the third-person singular form of "mansplain," so the verb is what needs explaining. "Mansplain" is a blend of "man" and "explain," with "-splain" standing in for "explain" in the way a blend joins two words by fusing their parts. The result packs a whole accusation into one compact verb: a man explaining something to a woman in a condescending way, usually on the assumption that she knows less about the subject than he does. Blends like this one are a common way to coin a new term, since they let speakers pair two existing words into something that sounds familiar yet carries a fresh meaning. Here the coinage ties the familiar verb "explain" to the noun "man," turning a neutral act of clarifying into a gendered complaint about who is doing the clarifying and why.

Synonyms: patronize, condescend