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war on women

war on women

6 6.7
A set of actions and laws that harm or limit women's rights, especially in politics and society
  • noun
  • Offensive
translation icon : guerra contra las mujeres
  • Is this a sign of a small truce in the war on women?
  • waging a war on women
  • Republican war on women
  • Democrats' war on women

They have set their sights on birth control and IVF and it is an all out war on women.

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Examples

  • I have a question for anyone who claims Republicans are engaging in a "war on women" or something like that.

    Blog text (5)
  • And what about the GOP's real war on women with real-world impact economically, medically, and socially on our lives?

    Blog text (13)
  • Who is it exactly that has a war on women?

    Blog text (23)
  • It's not a war on women; it's a war on abortion.

    Blog text (2)
  • Despite the GOP war on women, this year women scored huge victories in the recent election.

    Blog text (22)
  • Why aren't women pissed off enough to fight back against the war on women?

    Blog text (19)
  • What has been offensive to this woman is the "war on women" by Democrats and how insulting they have been.

    Blog text (3)
  • Anyone who thinks there's no war on women hasn't been paying attention.

    Blog text (23)
  • There is a real, life-and-death war on women in the Middle East—everywhere.

    Blog text (17)
  • During the recent campaign, discussions about healthcare highlighted the ongoing war on women in our society.

Synonyms

sexism
vswar on women
  • Offensive
109 4.9

Unfair acts and ideas about people because of their sex, often against women

targets a group's political and social rights through systematic policies
sexual discrimination
vswar on women
  • Formal
2 4.1

Unfair treatment of people because of their sex, often at work

focuses on broad political and social policies harming rights, not just workplace cases

Antonyms

Laws and social rules that help women be treated the same as men

How Hostile

war on women
  • Offensive
6 6.7
sexism
  • Offensive
109 4.9
sexual discrimination
  • Formal
2 4.1

Surface Forms

war on women singular
war on women plural

Morphology

war + on + woman

The phrase uses the productive metaphorical pattern 'war on + [group/issue]' so a learner who knows 'war', 'on', and 'women' can plausibly infer it means an organized or sustained campaign against women. However, the political and policy-specific nuance (systematic discrimination rather than literal armed conflict) is somewhat metaphorical and context-dependent, so full interpretation may require prior exposure.

Etymology

War on women uses the strong image of a war, a public fight aimed at women, to describe laws or actions that hurt their rights. So the phrase means 'unfair treatment' of women.