# What's the proper word for a man-hater? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 3, 2006, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-proper-word-for-a-man-hater/346851 "2006-03-03T01:31:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2006, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-proper-word-for-a-man-hater/346851/1 "2006-03-03T01:31:13Z")
There’s misanthrope, for hating everybody, and misogynist for hating women. Please don’t tell me there isn’t one, but I can’t think of it. ---
**Author:** ![groman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/73ab20/32.png) [@groman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/groman)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2006, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-proper-word-for-a-man-hater/346851/2 "2006-03-03T01:33:09Z")
The term you are looking for is “misandrist” ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2006, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-proper-word-for-a-man-hater/346851/3 "2006-03-03T01:39:59Z")
Ah, so there is one! How come I’ve never heard of it? With all the reading I do, you’d think I’d have come across it somewheres. Anyway, thanks! ---
**Author:** ![groman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/73ab20/32.png) [@groman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/groman)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2006, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-proper-word-for-a-man-hater/346851/4 "2006-03-03T01:46:27Z")
Well googling for both words you will see that misogynist is about 50 times more commonly used than misandrist. I am guessing is that misandry is a still a newly emerging pasttime and there have not been enough works written about it or even mentioning it for the word to become widely known. (How’s that for a run-on sentence?) ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2006, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-proper-word-for-a-man-hater/346851/5 "2006-03-03T01:47:16Z")
Very good! You get a gold star. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2006, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-proper-word-for-a-man-hater/346851/6 "2006-03-03T01:50:03Z")
If it’ll help you remember, the andro- root (as seen in the exclusively masculine name Andrew and its Romance language equivalents) basically means “manly”, in the sense of “relating to manhood”. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2006, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-proper-word-for-a-man-hater/346851/7 "2006-03-03T02:38:46Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > Ah, so there is one! How come I’ve never heard of it? With all the reading I do, you’d think I’d have come across it somewheres. Anyway, thanks! [The Master speaks.](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_244b.html) ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2006, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-proper-word-for-a-man-hater/346851/8 "2006-03-03T03:00:17Z")
> [@fetus](#): > > If it’ll help you remember, the andro- root (as seen in the exclusively masculine name Andrew and its Romance language equivalents) basically means “manly”, in the sense of “relating to manhood”. I know a few Andreas that might not agree. Yes, the root word of the name Andrea means “manly,” buy I’d hardly call the andro- names “exclusively masculine.” ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2006, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-proper-word-for-a-man-hater/346851/9 "2006-03-03T04:24:44Z")
Strictly speaking, the antonym for misandrist ought to be philanderer {I can’t recall that I’ve ever come across the word philandrist}, and philanderers, while their practices are frowned upon, ought to be philogynists. And the legions of automata in female form ought to be gynoids… ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2006, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-proper-word-for-a-man-hater/346851/10 "2006-03-03T07:12:51Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > Ah, so there is one! How come I’ve never heard of it? Obviously, it’s a plot by the men who control the world to suppress feminists. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2006, 9:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-proper-word-for-a-man-hater/346851/11 "2006-03-03T09:59:14Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > Ah, so there is one! How come I’ve never heard of it? With all the reading I do, you’d think I’d have come across it somewheres. Anyway, thanks! No-one needs a readily-available word to describe man-hating, because it’s not viewed as an evil the way that misogyny is. Maybe. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/96bed5/32.png) [@Cat\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Jones)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2006, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-proper-word-for-a-man-hater/346851/12 "2006-03-03T13:12:41Z")
> [@](#): > > I know a few Andreas that might not agree. and then there are those Andreas who would. ---
**Author:** ![Mindfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindfield/32/19759_2.png) [@Mindfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mindfield)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2006, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-proper-word-for-a-man-hater/346851/13 "2006-03-03T13:56:56Z")
> [@Malacandra](#): > > No-one needs a readily-available word to describe man-hating, because it’s not viewed as an evil the way that misogyny is. I think it’s because the usual stereotype as perceived by men allow those who buy into it to use “feminist” in the same capacity. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2006, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-proper-word-for-a-man-hater/346851/14 "2006-03-03T14:11:00Z")
> [@Mindfield](#): > > I think it’s because the usual stereotype as perceived by men allow those who buy into it to use “feminist” in the same capacity. Ooh, please don’t. Once the word “feminist” enters a thread, it’s usually time to send for Thomas and the Breakdown Train. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2006, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-proper-word-for-a-man-hater/346851/15 "2006-03-03T14:35:35Z")
> [@Malacandra](#): > > No-one needs a readily-available word to describe man-hating, because it’s not viewed as an evil the way that misogyny is. > > Maybe. :dubious: Hmm… Or maybe it could be that men wrote & invented most of the vocabulary for a long time, and it never occured to them that anyone could hate all men. Probably not, but yours is equally silly. So :dubious: right back at ya. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2006, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-proper-word-for-a-man-hater/346851/16 "2006-03-03T15:00:35Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > Hmm… Or maybe it could be that men wrote & invented most of the vocabulary for a long time, and it never occured to them that anyone could hate all men. > > Probably not, but yours is equally silly. So :dubious: right back at ya. Oh, but “misandry” and “misandrist” are right there in the dictionary. It’s just that there isn’t the same mileage in using them as in screaming “misogynist!”. That’s the only reason you ain’t heard them. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2006, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-proper-word-for-a-man-hater/346851/17 "2006-03-03T15:13:57Z")
> [@Malacandra](#): > > Oh, but “misandry” and “misandrist” are right there in the dictionary. It’s just that there isn’t the same mileage in using them as in screaming “misogynist!”. That’s the only reason you ain’t heard them. My comment above didn’t orginate with me, but with the great Carl Sagan. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2006, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-proper-word-for-a-man-hater/346851/18 "2006-03-03T21:54:07Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > My comment above didn’t orginate with me, but with the great Carl Sagan. Who was a recognized expert in philology. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2006, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-proper-word-for-a-man-hater/346851/19 "2006-03-03T22:00:59Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > Ah, so there is one! How come I’ve never heard of it? With all the reading I do, you’d think I’d have come across it somewheres. Anyway, thanks! Women only recently started hating men, that’s why. Before that, they had a thinly-veiled contempt. Note the relation between Alice and Ralph Kramden, for example. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2006, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-proper-word-for-a-man-hater/346851/20 "2006-03-03T23:07:02Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > My comment above didn’t orginate with me, but with the great Carl Sagan. _ding!_ [Appeal to Authority](http://www.nizkor.org/features/fallacies/appeal-to-authority.html) fallacy. Thanks for playing! 😃 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-proper-word-for-a-man-hater/346851.md?page=2)