brunette

American  

[broo-net] / bruˈnɛt /

adjective

1. (of hair, eyes, skin, etc.) of a dark color or tone.

2. (of a person) having dark hair and, often, dark eyes and darkish or olive skin.

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noun

1. a person, especially a female, with such coloration.

brunette British  

/ bruːˈnɛt /

noun

1. a girl or woman with dark brown hair

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adjective

1. dark brown

   brunette hair

Other Word Forms

• brunetteness noun

Etymology

Origin of brunette

1705–15; < French; feminine of brunet

Example Sentences

"I am returning to the big ice," the skater from Kazan announced on Telegram earlier this month, her formerly brunette hair now streaked with blonde highlights.

From Barron's • Jan. 30, 2026

ChatGPT, perhaps drawing on data showing that there are far more dark-haired people in the world than blondes, decided to make her a brunette.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 6, 2025

Inside the car, detectives found a brunette wig and a rubber mask resembling a white male that the law enforcement source said looked realistic enough to be “movie quality.”

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 9, 2025

"Visconti wanted me brunette with long hair. Fellini wanted me blonde," Cardinale said.

From BBC • Sep. 23, 2025

It bummed Dallas out that Reggie spent less time with him than with this tall brunette, who Dallas thought was just okay, and reasonably pretty.

From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel