feminine
Americanadjective
-
being or relating to to a woman or girl.
feminine beauty;
feminine dress.
-
having qualities traditionally ascribed to women, such as sensitivity or gentleness.
-
effeminate; womanish.
Growing up, he had been told he had a feminine walk.
-
Grammar. noting or pertaining to that one of the three genders of Latin, Greek, German, etc., or one of the two genders of French, Spanish, Hebrew, etc., having among its members most nouns referring to females, as well as other nouns, as Latin stella “star,” or German Zeit “time.”
noun
-
feminines
plural
-
the feminine gender.
-
a noun or other element in or marking the feminine gender.
adjective
-
suitable to or characteristic of a woman
a feminine fashion
-
possessing qualities or characteristics considered typical of or appropriate to a woman
-
effeminate; womanish
-
grammar
-
denoting or belonging to a gender of nouns, occurring in many inflected languages, that includes all kinds of referents as well as some female animate referents
-
( as noun )
German Zeit ``time'' and Ehe ``marriage'' are feminines
-
Synonym Usage
See female.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
antifemininenessnoun
-
femininenessnoun
-
hyperfemininenessnoun
-
antifeminineadjective
-
half-feminineadjective
-
hyperfeminineadjective
-
overfeminineadjective
-
pseudofeminineadjective
-
superfeminineadjective
-
ultrafeminineadjective
-
unfeminineadjective
-
antifemininelyadverb
-
femininelyadverb
-
hyperfemininelyadverb
-
overfemininelyadverb
-
unfemininelyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of feminine
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English femynyn(e), from Anglo-French, Old French: feminine of adjective feminin, from Latin fēminīnus, equivalent to fēmin(a) “woman” ( see fetus) + -īnus -ine 1
Explanation
Feminine is the opposite of masculine. If it has anything to do with girls and women, it's considered feminine. Anything feminine is associated with females. In American culture, that includes wearing pink, playing with dolls, sporting high heels, and getting weepy during sad movies. Many women find the traditional feminine roles to be sexist and limiting, while many men pick on each other for acting in a stereotypical feminine manner. But ideas about what is feminine are always changing: pants used to only be a masculine thing to wear, for example.
Vocabulary lists containing feminine
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Early plays Maddie’s lowest moments with raw sincerity and expressions of utter helplessness — visible cries for help, acted out with total concern and love for the feminine.
From Salon ● Aug. 8, 2026
The space taps into the brand’s chic, feminine energy, showcasing floral-print furniture and blending romantic, vintage-inspired designs with contemporary touches.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026
This idea proposes that the evolution of larger human brains occurred alongside changes that made the human skeleton less robust and more physically feminine compared with those of earlier ancestors.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 17, 2026
Anyone who's listened to Rodrigo's first two albums, 2021's Sour and 2023's Guts, knows the singer has endured a few calamitous heartbreaks, approaching them with a mix of anguish, confusion and feminine rage.
From BBC ● Jun. 10, 2026
She was scrappy yet willing to please, feminist yet feminine, full of rage yet friendly, articulate yet not dogmatic.
From "Genuine Fraud" by E. Lockhart
Although made with contemporary means, Hill’s smeary feminines recall the sharper-edged experiments of Cubists and Futurists.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 25, 2016
You are after results; and if you get them, do not mind the feminines of your household lifting the hands of horror over the unorthodox means.
From The Mountains by Stewart Edward White
Homer's praises of beauty are reserved for the feminines, especially his favourite Helen.
From The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night — Volume 10 by Sir Richard Francis Burton
The interior of the church was dim and crowded with feminines, and I could only hear flutters and rustlings, together with a subdued mumble at the remoter end—which I ascertained to be the ceremony.
From Baboo Jabberjee, B.A. by F. Anstey
The dinner bell will ring in a few moments," Helen declared presently, "and we must both make ourselves fit to be seen, not of men, but between thirty and forty feminines.
From Helen Grant's Schooldays by Amanda M. Douglas
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
