feminine
Americanadjective
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being or relating to to a woman or girl.
feminine beauty;
feminine dress.
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having qualities traditionally ascribed to women, such as sensitivity or gentleness.
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effeminate; womanish.
Growing up, he had been told he had a feminine walk.
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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
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the feminine gender.
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a noun or other element in or marking the feminine gender.
adjective
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suitable to or characteristic of a woman
a feminine fashion
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possessing qualities or characteristics considered typical of or appropriate to a woman
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effeminate; womanish
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grammar
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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
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( as noun )
German Zeit ``time'' and Ehe ``marriage'' are feminines
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Related Words
See female.
Other Word Forms
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antifeminineadjective
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antifemininelyadverb
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antifemininenessnoun
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femininelyadverb
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femininenessnoun
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half-feminineadjective
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hyperfeminineadjective
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hyperfemininelyadverb
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hyperfemininenessnoun
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overfeminineadjective
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overfemininelyadverb
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pseudofeminineadjective
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superfeminineadjective
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ultrafeminineadjective
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unfeminineadjective
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unfemininelyadverb
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.
In Hollywood films and literary tropes, spiders come ideologically loaded and are frequently coupled with the feminine.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 15, 2026
Another possible answer is that throughout their relationship, Megan publicly portrayed the role of feminine caretaker.
From Salon • Apr. 30, 2026
The collection brings a feminine touch to tailored classics that the house is known for, with wool cashmere coats and wide-leg slouch pants.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 3, 2026
They said, “When feminine is back, we’ll come back to you.”
From MarketWatch • Mar. 5, 2026
There was one pretty, feminine thing available for free throughout the war—flowers.
From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein
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.
