Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

missing white woman syndrome

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.12 in modern English

Syllables: miss-ing white -wom-an syn-drome
IPA

45

Scrabble Score

25

Letters

5

Syllables

14

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

The disproportionate media coverage of a missing person or similar case involving a young, white, upper-middle-class woman, contrasted with lesser coverage of males, non-white ethnicities, etc.

Derogatory; Uncountable

Example Sentences

"The Petito case, which is still unfolding (her fiancé, with whom she’d been travelling, is believed to be in hiding) seemed like another instance of what the late journalist Gwen Ifill famously described as “missing white woman syndrome”: a hunger for stories about victims who look like Petito, to the exclusion of all others."

Etymology

Coined by American journalist, television newscaster and author Gwen Ifill.

Usage

Synonyms

missing white girl syndrome

Questions

What does missing white woman syndrome mean?: The disproportionate media coverage of a missing person or similar case involving a young, white, upper-middle-class woman, contrasted with lesser coverage of males, non-white ethnicities, etc.
Where does missing white woman syndrome come from?: Coined by American journalist, television newscaster and author Gwen Ifill.

How to pronounce missing white woman syndrome

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