Definition of MANIFESTO (original) (raw)

: a written statement declaring publicly the intentions, motives, or views of its issuer

The group's manifesto focused on helping the poor and stopping violence.

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Manifesto is related to manifest, which occurs in English as a noun, verb, and adjective. Of these, the adjective, which means "readily perceived by the senses," is oldest, dating to the 14th century. Both manifest and manifesto derive ultimately from the Latin noun manus ("hand") and -festus, a combining form of uncertain meaning that is also found in the Latin adjective infestus ("hostile"), an ancestor of the English infest. Something that is manifest is easy to perceive or recognize, and a manifesto is a statement in which someone makes his or her intentions or views easy for people to ascertain. Perhaps the most well-known statement of this sort is the Communist Manifesto, written in 1848 by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels to outline the platform of the Communist League.

Examples of manifesto in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Later, Locke dabbled in social media, posting shaky, fire-and-brimstone video manifestos on Facebook. —Sam Kestenbaum, Harper's Magazine, 21 June 2024 Flipping one of 2 Live Crew’s most notoriously obscene hooks, the duo dishes out trademark manifestos on scheming men over a riotous bounce beat. —Pitchfork, 11 Dec. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'manifesto.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun and Verb

Italian, denunciation, manifest, from manifestare to manifest, from Latin, from manifestus

First Known Use

Noun

1620, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1748, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of manifesto was in 1620

Dictionary Entries Near manifesto

Cite this Entry

“Manifesto.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/manifesto. Accessed 1 Oct. 2024.

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