Stepford
Britishadjective
noun
Etymology
Origin of Stepford
C20: from The Stepford Wives (1972), a book by US writer Ira Levin which depicted a neighbourhood in which men turn their wives into placid and obedient robots
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.
The late 1960s and ‘70s delivered a host of classic horror films, from “Rosemary’s Baby” to “The Exorcist” to “The Stepford Wives” to “Alien.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2025
The film’s trailer shows Kidman living a Stepford Wives-style life in a small town, with a forced smile as she declares “it’s just perfect”.
From BBC ● Mar. 23, 2025
Think “The Stepford Wives” meets “The Hunger Games” meets “Cabin in the Woods.”
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 15, 2023
"Want to avoid a handmade fail?" reads a 2017 article from Today about school valentines, with the false-cheery tone of a Stepford Wife.
From Salon ● Feb. 8, 2023
I am going mad having meetings on Ira Levin’s The Stepford Wives, which I am adapting for the Silver Screen.
From "The Princess Bride" by William Goldman
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.
