ladylike

[ley-dee-lahyk]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR ladylike ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

like a lady.

befitting a lady: in a ladylike manner.

Origin of ladylike

First recorded in 1580–90; lady + -like

Related formsla·dy·like·ness, nounun·la·dy·like, adjective

Synonyms for ladylike

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR ladylike ON THESAURUS.COM

1, 2. well-bred, well-mannered, courteous.

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

Related Words for unladylike

coarse, crude, indelicate, rude, uncouth, unrefined, vulgar

Examples from the Web for unladylike

Historical Examples of unladylike

With which unladylike remark she dismissed him from her mind as a possible ally.
Good Indian
B. M. Bower
Mrs. Erveng won't let me play with Hilliard, I'm sure she won't, 'that's so unladylike!'
We Ten
Lyda Farrington Kraus
In the very height of their emotion they knew it to be unmanly or unladylike.
A Room With A View
E. M. Forster
But he did not know that she indulged in that unladylike trick only after dark.
The Tale of Betsy Butterfly
Arthur Scott Bailey
Ladies should not use unfair or unladylike means to sell their wares.
Social Life
Maud C. Cooke

British Dictionary definitions for unladylike

ladylike

adjective

like or befitting a lady in manners and bearing; refined and fastidious

derogatory (of a man) effeminate

Derived Formsladylikeness, noun

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

Word Origin and History for unladylike

ladylike

adj.

also lady-like, 1580s; see lady + like. Middle English had ladily "queenly, exalted" (late 14c.).