mansplain
verb

- (of a man) to explain something to someone, typically a woman, in a manner regarded as condescending or patronizing

The Oxford English Dictionary

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WORD ORIGIN

The term "mansplain”, a blend of "man" + "explain," first appeared in 2008. The 's' comes from the pronunciation of "explain" (ek-spleyn).

The shortened form "'splain" has much older roots - it's been used as a colloquial contraction of "explain" since at least the 1960s, and according to some sources, for over a century. It appeared in contexts showing informal speech or imperfect English, famously used by Ricky Ricardo in "I Love Lucy”.

“Mansplain” was inspired by Rebecca Solnit's April 2008 essay "Men Explain Things to Me: Facts Didn't Get in Their Way," It became popular among feminist bloggers before entering mainstream commentary. It quickly spread from feminist (and anti-feminist) blogosphere to Twitter to mainstream media.

The word was added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2018, about a decade after its first use.

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EXPLAINING THE SUFFIX “-SPLAIN”


These terms usually describe a power imbalance in discourse: someone from a more dominant social group explaining something to someone from a less dominant one, often in a patronizing or dismissive way. The term critiques not just the act of explaining, but how and why it’s being done—typically rooted in assumptions, superiority, or ignorance.

Some common examples:

- Whitesplaining = when a white person explains racial issues (usually to a person of colour) in a way that is ignorant, patronizing, or dismissive of the actual lived experiences of non-white people.

- Leftsplaining = when someone on the political left explains political or social issues (often to centrists, right-wingers, or even other leftists) in a smug, oversimplified, or moralizing tone.

- Wokesplaining = when a socially progressive person explains issues like race, gender, or privilege in an overly dogmatic or self-righteous way.

- Richsplaining / Classsplaining = when a wealthy or upper-class person lectures working-class people about money, budgeting, or "working hard" in a way that ignores structural inequality.

The "-splain" suffix is an interesting tool for calling out condescending explanations, though its overuse has led to some backlash about its effectiveness.

Helga & Paul Smith

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SYNONYMS

act like a know-it-all, assume a patronizing air, backseat explain, be a smart aleck (condescending, lofty, overbearing, patronizing, snobbish to) belittle while explaining, condescend, condescendingly explain, correct someone needlessly, dictate the obvious, drown someone in unsolicited advice, educate unasked, explain like they’re five, go on a soapbox, hand out wisdom uninvited, hold court, hold forth, instruct from a pedestal, lay it on thick, lecture needlessly, lecture unnecessarily, look down on, look down one's nose at, MANSPLAIN, opine unsolicited, patronise, patronize, pontificate, preach at, presume ignorance, put on airs, ride the high horse, school someone unnecessarily, soapbox, speak condescendingly to, speak down/haughtily to, talk down to, talk someone to death, toot your own horn, treat as inferior (condescendingly, like a child), trumpet superiority, unload a monologue, wave credentials around, whiteboard someone without consent

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SMUGGLE OWAD into an English conversation today, say something like:

“Any ideas on how to politely stop someone from MANSPLAINING during a meeting?"

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