Synonyms for feminine


Grammar : Adj
Spell : fem-uh-nin
Phonetic Transcription : ˈfɛm ə nɪn


Définition of feminine

Origin :
  • mid-14c., "of the female sex," from Old French femenin (12c.) "feminine, female; with feminine qualities, effeminate," from Latin femininus "feminine" (in the grammatical sense at first), from femina "woman, female," literally "she who suckles," from root of felare "to suck, suckle" (see fecund). Sense of "woman-like, proper to or characteristic of women" is recorded from mid-15c.
  • The interplay of meanings now represented in female, feminine, and effeminate, and the attempt to make them clear and separate, has led to many coinages: feminitude (1878); feminile "feminine" (1640s); feminility "womanliness" (1838); femality (17c., "effeminacy;" 1754 "female nature"). Also feminality (1640s, "quality or state of being female"), from rare adjective feminal (late 14c.), from Old French feminal. And femineity "quality or state of being feminine," from Latin femineus "of a woman, pertaining to a woman."
  • adj girlish
Example sentences :
  • Simple Alleyne opened his eyes at this little spurt of feminine bitterness.
  • Extract from : « The White Company » by Arthur Conan Doyle
  • Did she have a heart, then, or was it a feminine trait to turn pale in every emergency?
  • Extract from : « Chip, of the Flying U » by B. M. Bower
  • But dancing was the only feminine accomplishment with which she had any acquaintance.
  • Extract from : « Biographical Stories » by Nathaniel Hawthorne
  • "'Tis nothing," she answered, refusing his support with feminine reserve.
  • Extract from : « The Last of the Mohicans » by James Fenimore Cooper
  • His own nature partook of the feminine, and he shared its intuitions and its fears.
  • Extract from : « Tiverton Tales » by Alice Brown
  • She was in as feminine a fright as though she had never braved a danger.
  • Extract from : « The Cavalier » by George Washington Cable
  • Leave this lady to me; I know how to manage these feminine vixens.
  • Extract from : « Tales And Novels, Volume 8 (of 10) » by Maria Edgeworth
  • It was a look of resentment and contempt, with just a dash of feminine reproach in it.
  • Extract from : « One Day's Courtship » by Robert Barr
  • "We are almost there now," he answered, amazed at the feminine inconsistency of the command.
  • Extract from : « One Day's Courtship » by Robert Barr
  • Yes, and you have found out that there are women who have a feminine air, but who are not women.
  • Extract from : « A Comedy of Marriage and Other Tales » by Guy De Maupassant

Antonyms for feminine

Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019