mansplaining
mansplaining Lexical Profile
mansplaining Game Scores & Validity
• noun
The practice of a man explaining something to someone, typically a woman, in a manner regarded as condescending, patronizing, or overconfident.
"The panel discussion was derailed by constant interruptions and mansplaining from the guest speaker."
• verb
To explain something to someone, characteristically by a man to a woman, in a condescending, patronizing, or overconfident manner.
"He spent twenty minutes mansplaining the software architecture to the senior engineer who had actually designed it."
Word Nuance & Usage
Used exclusively in informal, critical, or pejorative contexts; it describes a specific social dynamic of gender-based condescension rather than simple explanation by a man.
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Coined in 2008 as a portmanteau of 'man' and the informal variant 'splaining' (from 'explaining'), inspired by Rebecca Solnit's essay 'Men Explain Things to Me'.
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.