fair sex

or fairer sex

See synonyms for fair sex on Thesaurus.com

nounOlder Use: Sometimes Offensive.

women as a group (usually used facetiously): an insult to the fair sex.

Origin of fair sex

First recorded in 1680–90

usage note For fair sex

This is a dated term, usually used for humorous effect. It uses the word fair in the sense of “physically attractive”; because it refers to a woman in terms of her appearance, it is sometimes perceived as demeaning.

Words Nearby fair sex

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use fair sex in a sentence

The fair sex in the East is scarcely less addicted to the use of this weed.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce | E. R. Billings.
But M. Nicklauss, with his great experience of the world, deemed this almost general abstention of the fair sex unnatural.
The Nabob | Alphonse Daudet
He is well liked by the male portion of his congregation, and is on excellent terms with the fair sex.
Our Churches and Chapels | Atticus
In another point, he has great advantage, from the limited number of the fair sex.
Newton Forster | Captain Frederick Marryat
It also points out a very characteristic feature of these concerts—namely, the preponderance of the fair sex.
Frederick Chopin as a Man and Musician | Frederick Niecks

British Dictionary definitions for fair sex

fair sex

noun

the fair sex women collectively

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with fair sex

fair sex

Girls or women, as in Many women would object to being called the fair sex nowadays. This euphemism uses fair in the sense of “physically beautiful” and is probably dying out. [Mid-1600s]

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