mansplain

Mansplain is a portmanteau of "man" and "explain" used to describe the act of a man explaining something to a woman in a manner regarded as condescending, overconfident, and often inaccurate. The term typically implies that the speaker assumes the listener has no knowledge of the topic—even when she may be an expert—based solely on gender assumptions. The concept was popularized following Rebecca Solnit's 2008 essay Men Explain Things to Me, though Solnit did not use the specific word in the text; the term emerged shortly thereafter in online communities (specifically LiveJournal) to describe the phenomenon she articulated.

Usage of the term is linguistically and culturally contested. Proponents argue that it provides necessary vocabulary to describe a specific, pervasive gendered dynamic where women's voices and expertise are routinely undervalued in professional and social settings. They view it as a tool for identifying structural sexism in conversation. Critics, however, often view the term as pejorative or sexist against men, arguing that it essentializes negative behavior to a specific gender. Some detractors contend that the term is used to dismiss valid arguments or disagreements simply because the speaker is male, or that using gendered language to combat sexism is counterproductive.

Example:
"I didn't need him to mansplain the concept of compound interest to me; I have a PhD in economics."

Example:
"The meeting dragged on as the consultant continued to mansplain the software to the very developers who wrote the code."