female genital mutilation
noun
: a procedure performed especially as a cultural rite that typically includes the total or partial excision of the female external genitalia and especially the clitoris and labia minora and that is now outlawed in many nations including the U.S.
—abbreviation FGM
called also female circumcision
compare infibulationExamples of female genital mutilation in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Over the past year, Gambia — a tiny, majority Muslim country — has been engulfed in a nationwide debate about female genital cutting, which is widely known as female genital mutilation (FGM).
—
Rachel Chason, Washington Post, 14 July 2024
Coulibaly, already having worked as an actress and journalist, was also a public opponent of female genital mutilation, a practice known to occur throughout Africa and that she had been subjected to herself.
—Indiewire Staff, IndieWire, 13 Aug. 2024
As the Bahs understood it, cutting – a practice known internationally as female genital mutilation, or FGM – was a core tenet of their religion and their culture.
—Ayen Deng Bior, The Christian Science Monitor, 16 July 2024
The West African country could become the first in the world to overturn a prohibition on female genital mutilation.
—Rachel Chason, Washington Post, 14 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for female genital mutilation 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Rachel Chason, Washington Post, 14 July 2024
Coulibaly, already having worked as an actress and journalist, was also a public opponent of female genital mutilation, a practice known to occur throughout Africa and that she had been subjected to herself.
—Indiewire Staff, IndieWire, 13 Aug. 2024
As the Bahs understood it, cutting – a practice known internationally as female genital mutilation, or FGM – was a core tenet of their religion and their culture.
—Ayen Deng Bior, The Christian Science Monitor, 16 July 2024
The West African country could become the first in the world to overturn a prohibition on female genital mutilation.
—Rachel Chason, Washington Post, 14 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for female genital mutilation
Dictionary Entries Near female genital mutilation
Cite this Entry
“Female genital mutilation.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/female%20genital%20mutilation. Accessed 1 Dec. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share