maidenly
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of maidenly
late Middle English word dating back to 1400–50; see origin at maiden, -ly
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.
And it's adapted with a heightened, soap opera-y sense of dramatic irony conveyed through longing glances, annoyed walking, and maidenly sighing.
From Salon • Jan. 30, 2021
Whether playing the ecstatic tissue-tearing child, the photographing parent, the maidenly aunt or avuncular uncle, we are never more “literary” than we are on Christmas morning.
From New York Times • Dec. 1, 2017
At the end of the 1991 cartoon, when the enchantment is lifted, he looks incomplete, vaguely embryonic—a smooth-skinned creature with maidenly bedhead and a tentative smile.
From The New Yorker • Mar. 27, 2017
Perhaps executives at Wal-Mart are indeed right this minute fanning themselves in maidenly horror at the cover image of West's forthcoming album.
From Salon • Feb. 10, 2011
My maidenly blushes were not phony—felt my face would catch fire with fear and embarrassment.
From "Code Name Verity" 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.
