womanish
Americanadjective
-
womanlike or feminine.
-
weakly feminine; effeminate.
adjective
-
having qualities or characteristics regarded as unsuitable to a strong character of either sex, esp a man
-
characteristic of or suitable for a woman
Synonym Usage
See womanly.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of womanish
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English; see origin at woman, -ish 1
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.
As twists go, that’s a hackneyed one, given that Murder on the Orient Express did the “small dark man with a womanish voice” thing ages ago.
From Slate ● Aug. 28, 2018
Spinoza claimed that human reluctance to slaughter animals is “founded rather on vain superstition and womanish pity than on sound reason.”
From New York Times ● Jul. 3, 2014
Isabella in Measure for Measure is interesting but, I think, still a victim; she takes a very womanish ethical stance – that of her chastity – to exercise power.
From The Guardian ● Jul. 19, 2012
When he first dons the white burnoose of a princely Bedouin, he takes an almost womanish delight in his new finery.
From Time Magazine Archive
Then, old womanish, as if he were, though still spiteful, slightly embarrassed, he got back up onto his treasure pile, stretched out his wings, and settled.
From "Grendel" by John Gardner
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.
