feminine
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fem·i·nine
(fĕm′ə-nĭn)adj.
1. Of or relating to women or girls.
2. Characterized by or possessing qualities traditionally attributed to women, such as demureness.
3. Effeminate; womanish.
4. Grammar Relating or belonging to the gender of words or forms that refer chiefly to females or to things grammatically classified as female.
n. Grammar
1. The feminine gender.
2. A word or form belonging to the feminine gender.
[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin fēminīnus, from fēmina, woman; see dhē(i)- in Indo-European roots.]
fem′i·nine·ly adv.
fem′i·nine·ness, fem′i·nin′i·ty (-nĭn′ĭ-tē) n.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
feminine
(ˈfɛmɪnɪn)adj
1. suitable to or characteristic of a woman: a feminine fashion.
2. possessing qualities or characteristics considered typical of or appropriate to a woman
3. effeminate; womanish
4. (Grammar) grammar
a. 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
b. (as noun): German Zeit 'time' and Ehe 'marriage' are feminines.
[C14: from Latin fēminīnus, from fēmina woman]
ˈfemininely adv
ˈfeminineness n
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
fem•i•nine
(ˈfɛm ə nɪn)adj.
1. pertaining to or characteristic of women or girls: feminine attire.
2. having qualities or characteristics traditionally ascribed to women, as sensitivity, delicacy, or prettiness.
3. effeminate; womanish.
4. belonging to the female sex; female.
5. of, pertaining to, or being the grammatical gender that has among its members most nouns referring to females, as well as other nouns, as Latin stella “star” or German Zeit “time.”
n. 6. the feminine gender.
7. a word or other form in or marking the feminine gender.
[1350–1400; Middle English < Anglo-French, Old French < Latin fēminīnus]
fem′i•nine•ly, adv.
syn: See female.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
female
– feminine1. 'female'
Female means 'relating to the sex that can have babies'. You can use female as an adjective to talk about either people or animals.
There has been a rise in the number of female employees.
A female toad may lay 20,000 eggs each season.
You can also use female as a noun to talk about animals.
The male fertilizes the female's eggs.
He saw a family of lions – a big male, a beautiful female, and two cubs.
In scientific contexts, female is sometimes used as a noun to refer to women or girls.
The condition affects both males and females.
People sometimes use female to talk about young women, in order to avoid using 'woman' or 'girl'.
He asked if a white female of a certain age had checked into the hotel.
2. 'feminine'
Feminine means 'typical of women, rather than men'.
The bedroom has a light, feminine look.
She is a calm, reasonable and deeply feminine woman.
Don't use 'feminine' to talk about animals.
Collins COBUILD English Usage © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 2004, 2011, 2012
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Switch to new thesaurus
| Noun | 1. |  feminine - a gender that refers chiefly (but not exclusively) to females or to objects classified as femalegender, grammatical gender - a grammatical category in inflected languages governing the agreement between nouns and pronouns and adjectives; in some languages it is quite arbitrary but in Indo-European languages it is usually based on sex or animateness |
| Adj. | 1. | feminine - associated with women and not with men; "feminine intuition" female - being the sex (of plant or animal) that produces fertilizable gametes (ova) from which offspring develop; "a female heir"; "female holly trees bear the berries" feminine - of grammatical gender masculine - associated with men and not with women |
| 2. | feminine - of grammatical gender feminine - associated with women and not with men; "feminine intuition" masculine - of grammatical gender neuter - of grammatical gender; "`it' is the third-person singular neuter pronoun" | |
| 3. | feminine - befitting or characteristic of a woman especially a mature woman; "womanly virtues of gentleness and compassion" | |
| 4. | feminine - (music or poetry) ending on an unaccented beat or syllable; "a feminine ending" music - an artistic form of auditory communication incorporating instrumental or vocal tones in a structured and continuous manner unstressed - not bearing a stress or accent; "short vowels are unstressed" |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
feminine
adjective
1. womanly, pretty, soft, gentle, tender, modest, delicate, graceful, girlie, girlish, ladylike the ideal of feminine beauty
womanly rough, manly, masculine, butch, Amazonian, virile, mannish, unfeminine, indelicate, unladylike, unwomanly
womanly rough, manly, masculine, butch, Amazonian, virile, mannish, unfeminine, indelicate, unladylike, unwomanly
2. effeminate, camp (informal), weak, unmanly, effete, womanish, unmasculine men with feminine gestures
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002
feminine
adjectiveThe American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
TranslationsSelect a language:
Spanish / Español
feminine
[ˈfemɪnɪn]Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
feminine
(ˈfeminin) adjective1. of a woman. a feminine voice.femenino
2. with all the essential qualities of a woman. She was a very feminine person.femenino
3. in certain languages, of one of usually two or three genders of nouns etc. femenino
ˌfemiˈninity noun the quality of being feminine. She never used her femininity to win the argument.feminidad
ˈfeminism noun the thought and actions of people who want to make women's (legal, political, social etc) rights equal to those of men. feminismo
ˈfeminist noun a supporter of feminism. feminista
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.
feminine
→ femeninoMultilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009
feminine
a. femenino-a; afeminado.
English-Spanish Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012
feminine
adj femeninoEnglish-Spanish/Spanish-English Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.