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 infibulation

Examples of female genital mutilation in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

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

Here’s why some high-risk patients aren’t getting drugs to combat COVID Connecticut is 1 of 9 states without a ban on female genital mutilation. —Hartford Courant, 13 June 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1979, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

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 United States

—abbreviation FGM

called also female circumcision

compare infibulation