feminine

[ fem-uh-nin ]

/ ˈfɛm ə nɪn /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR feminine ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

pertaining to a woman or girl: feminine beauty; feminine dress.

having qualities traditionally ascribed to women, as sensitivity or gentleness.

effeminate; womanish: a man with a feminine walk.

belonging to the female sex; female: feminine staff members.

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 Grammar.

the feminine gender.

a noun or other element in or marking that gender.

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Words related to feminine

ladylike, soft, tender, womanly, female, dainty, effeminate, womanish

Words nearby feminine

feme-sole trader, femic, femicide, feminacy, femineity, feminine, feminine caesura, feminine ending, feminine rhyme, femininity, femininity complex

Origin of feminine

1350–1400; Middle English < Anglo-French, Old French: feminine of feminin < L of fēminīnus, equivalent to fēmin(a) woman (see fetus) + -īnus -ine¹

SYNONYMS FOR feminine

2 See female.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR feminine ON THESAURUS.COM

OTHER WORDS FROM feminine

fem·i·nine·ly, adverbfem·i·nine·ness, nounan·ti·fem·i·nine, adjectivean·ti·fem·i·nine·ly, adverb

an·ti·fem·i·nine·ness, nounhalf-fem·i·nine, adjectivehy·per·fem·i·nine, adjectivehy·per·fem·i·nine·ly, adverbhy·per·fem·i·nine·ness, nouno·ver·fem·i·nine, adjectiveo·ver·fem·i·nine·ly, adverbpseu·do·fem·i·nine, adjectivesu·per·fem·i·nine, adjectiveul·tra·fem·i·nine, adjectiveun·fem·i·nine, adjectiveun·fem·i·nine·ly, adverb

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH feminine

female feminine (see synonym study at female)effeminate effete feminine womanish womanly (see synonym study at womanly)

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for feminine

All other issues—racial, feminine, even environmental—need to fit around this central objective.
Time to Bring Back the Truman Democrats|Joel Kotkin|December 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In Northanger Abbey, Jane Austen defends the novel against critics who dismiss it as frivolous and feminine.
The Birth of the Novel|Nick Romeo|November 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
“I had this feminine, classical image [of myself] that would have totally been destroyed,” she said.
Whip It: Secrets of a Dominatrix|Justin Jones|November 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Betty Friedan put the feelings of our mothers to words, publishing The Feminine Mystique.
Whither the Women’s Movement?|Judith Barnett|July 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST

However, the “feminine” product industry was long in need of a revamp.
Yes, Always’s ‘Like a Girl’ Campaign Is Great—but It’s Also Deceptive|Emily Shire|June 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Great numbers of people are passing to and fro, an excess of the feminine element being generally observable.
The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 20, No. 121, November, 1867|Various
In the interior of their abode, they occupy themselves with feminine tasks, and fervently perform the rites of their religion.
The Smuggler Chief|Gustave Aimard
There were little nothings, punctuated by trills of feminine laughter.
The Christian|Hall Caine
Amongst her other feminine qualities she had that of being a perfect dissembler.
The History of Henry Esmond, Esq.|W. M. Thackeray
I would like to have run from Limerick Junction up to Limerick, says a feminine member of the quartette.
The Chautauquan, Vol. III, December 1882|The Chautauquan Literary and Scientific Circle

British Dictionary definitions for feminine

feminine

/ (ˈfɛmɪnɪn) /

adjective

suitable to or characteristic of a womana 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

Derived forms of feminine

femininely, adverbfeminineness, noun

Word Origin for feminine

C14: from Latin fēminīnus, from fēmina woman

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