blonde

blonde — adjective

1. pale yellow or golden in colour — used to describe the colour of hair, wood, bee

1.adjectiveB1
Definition

pale yellow or golden in colour — used to describe the colour of hair, wood, beer, or other light-coloured things.

Example

The carpenter chose a blonde oak finish for the bookshelves in the study.

blonde + wood (oak, finish)

Sana ordered a glass of blonde ale while waiting for her lunch.

blonde + beer (ale)

Common collocations
  • blonde hair
  • blonde wood
  • blonde ale
  • blonde oak
  • blonde colour
Synonyms
  • golden

    suggests a richer, warmer yellow tone, often used for hair or light

  • fair

    broader term describing light-coloured hair or skin; less precise for the specific pale-yellow shade

  • light

    general term for any pale shade; lacks the specific reference to yellow-gold

  • flaxen

    literary or old-fashioned term for very pale, almost white-yellow hair

Antonyms
  • dark

    used for hair, wood, or beer that is deep in colour

  • brunette

    specifically for dark brown hair

Grammar Patterns

be + blonde

blonde + noun

Common Mistakes

The table is made of blond wood
The table is made of blonde wood
when describing the colour of an object (wood, beer, etc.), 'blonde' is the standard spelling even without a gender reference.
She has blond hair' (when referring to a female)
She has blonde hair
'blonde' is the usual spelling for women and girls, while 'blond' may be used for men and boys.

2. having pale yellow or gold-coloured hair — said of a person, most often a female

2.adjectiveB1
Definition

having pale yellow or gold-coloured hair — said of a person, most often a female, whose hair is that shade.

Example

The blonde woman at the ticket counter helped Christopher find his seat.

describing a person's hair colour — blonde + woman

A little blonde girl sat cross-legged on the library floor reading a picture book.

Common collocations
  • blonde woman
  • blonde girl
  • blonde child
  • blonde man
  • blonde hair
Synonyms
  • fair-haired

    slightly more formal; refers to having light-coloured hair without specifying the exact shade

  • tow-haired

    rare, dialectal term for very pale, almost white-blonde hair, especially in children

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

blonde + noun (person)

be + blonde

Usage Note

In English, blonde (with the 'e') is traditionally used for women and girls, while blond (without the 'e') can be used for men and boys. In modern British English, however, blonde is common for all genders. The 'blond' spelling is more frequent in American English for males.

Common Mistakes

He is a blonde boy' (if you want to follow the traditional gender distinction)
He is a blond boy
the masculine spelling 'blond' is traditionally used for males, though 'blonde' is also widely accepted today.

blonde — noun

Word family

  • blond
    adjectiveB1
  • blondness
    nounC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

While blonde refers to a pale yellow or gold colour, golden suggests a richer, warmer tone closer to the colour of the metal gold — often used for hair that shines. Fair is a broader term that describes light-coloured hair OR light-coloured skin, so it is less specific than blonde ('a fair-haired boy'). Flaxen is a more literary or old-fashioned word for very pale, straw-coloured blonde hair — it appears in novels but rarely in conversation. Light is a general term that can describe any pale shade of hair ('light brown', 'light blonde') and is not limited to the yellow-gold spectrum. For example: 'She has golden hair that shines in the sunlight.' vs 'The child had flaxen hair like a field of wheat.'

golden ↗fair ↗flaxenlight ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

  • naturally blonde
  • beautifully blonde
  • strikingly blonde

Phrases

  • blonde hair
  • blonde woman
  • blonde girl
  • blonde wood
  • blonde ale
  • natural blonde

Etymology

GermanicFrankishOld FrenchFrenchEnglish

The word blonde comes from French 'blonde', the feminine form of 'blond'. It entered English in the 1400s from Old French 'blont', meaning 'a colour midway between golden and light chestnut'. The French word likely has Germanic origins, from Frankish '*blund', meaning 'a mixed colour'. The spelling distinction (blonde for feminine, blond for masculine) was borrowed from French and has persisted in English, though modern usage is moving toward 'blonde' as a common spelling for all genders.