feminine

feminine — adjective

1. relating to the qualities, looks, or conduct that people in a given culture have

1.adjectiveB1
Definition

relating to the qualities, looks, or conduct that people in a given culture have long seen as characteristic of women.

Example

Madison's bright silk shirt was seen as too feminine by some of her older relatives.

predicative: [noun] + be seen as + feminine

In many communities, caring for children and elderly parents is still viewed as a feminine responsibility.

collocation: feminine + responsibility / duty

Common collocations
  • feminine beauty
  • feminine qualities
  • feminine side
  • feminine touch
  • feminine energy
  • feminine appearance
Synonyms
  • womanly

    usually positive, focuses on mature womanhood (e.g. 'womanly figure')

  • ladylike

    narrower; refers to polite, refined behaviour expected of women; can sound old-fashioned

  • girlish

    suggests youthful or childlike feminine qualities, not mature ones

Antonyms
  • masculine

    having traits traditionally associated with men

Grammar Patterns

be + feminine

feminine + noun

Usage Note

This sense describes social perceptions and cultural expectations, not biological facts. What a society considers feminine can vary greatly across time periods and regions.

Common Mistakes

He is very feminine' (used as a judgement or insult).
He has a gentle way of speaking that some people consider feminine.
Feminine describes socially-associated traits, not a person's worth.

2. relating to one of the classes into which nouns, pronouns, and adjectives are gr

2.adjectiveB2
Definition

relating to one of the classes into which nouns, pronouns, and adjectives are grouped in certain languages, alongside masculine and sometimes neuter.

Example

In French, the word for 'table' is feminine, while the word for 'book' is masculine.

predictative: [noun] + be + feminine [gender]

Chidi found it hard to remember whether 'river' in German is feminine, masculine, or neuter.

Common collocations
  • feminine noun
  • feminine gender
  • feminine ending
  • feminine article
Synonyms
Antonyms
  • masculine

    the contrasting grammatical class

  • neuter

    a third class in some languages, neither masculine nor feminine

Grammar Patterns

be + feminine [gender]

feminine + noun [gender]

Usage Note

Used strictly for grammatical categories in languages with noun classes (e.g. French, Spanish, German, Italian, Latin). A feminine noun does not necessarily refer to something female — it is a grammatical classification.

Common Mistakes

The word for 'tree' is feminine in French, so a tree must be female.
The word for 'tree' is feminine in French, but that is just a grammar rule, not about real gender.
Grammatical gender is a language system, not a statement about the object.

3. referring to an English noun formed with a special ending (such as -ess) that in

3.adjectiveB2
Definition

referring to an English noun formed with a special ending (such as -ess) that indicates the word names a woman or a girl.

Example

The feminine form 'waitress' is used less often today, as many restaurants prefer the term 'server'.

feminine form: base word + -ess; usage note about decline

Élise introduced herself as an 'actor' and asked the organisers not to use the feminine form of the word.

Common collocations
  • feminine form
  • feminine suffix
  • feminine ending

Grammar Patterns

feminine form of [noun]

feminine + noun [word form]

Usage Note

Many feminine noun forms ending in -ess (e.g. 'actress', 'stewardess', 'poetess') are declining in use as gender-neutral alternatives (e.g. 'actor', 'flight attendant', 'poet') become preferred. This is a notable shift in modern English.

Common Mistakes

The feminine of 'doctor' is 'doctress'.
Most English job titles like 'doctor' or 'lawyer' do not have separate feminine forms.
Only a limited set of older words have distinct feminine forms in English.

feminine — noun

Word family

  • femininity
    nounB2
  • feminism
    nounB2
  • feminist
    nounB2
  • feminist
    adjectiveB2
  • feminize
    verbC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

Female refers strictly to biological sex (a female cat, a female athlete) and is neutral. Feminine (adj.) describes socially-associated traits, appearance, or behaviour — what a culture considers typical of women. Womanly overlaps with feminine but carries a positive, approving tone and often refers to mature qualities such as strength, warmth, or dignity. Ladylike is narrower and more prescriptive: it describes the polite, restrained behaviour once expected of upper-class women, and can sound dated or class-bound. Effeminate applies only to men and often carries a negative or dismissive judgement. For example: 'She has a feminine style' (neutral observation). 'She has a womanly grace' (admiring). 'He was teased for being effeminate' (judgemental). 'That behaviour was considered ladylike in the 1950s' (historical, class-bound).

feminine ↗female ↗womanlyladylike ↗feminine (n.)

Common collocations

Nouns

  • feminine form
  • feminine gender
  • feminine noun
  • feminine suffix

Adverbs

  • traditionally feminine
  • stereotypically feminine
  • delicately feminine
  • distinctly feminine

Phrases

  • feminine side
  • feminine touch
  • feminine mystique
  • feminine hygiene

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

Feminine entered English in the 1300s from Old French 'feminin', which came from Latin 'femininus' (feminine). The Latin root 'femina' means 'woman', and is related to 'filius' (son) via the idea of 'one who suckles' (from 'felare' — to suck). The grammatical sense developed in Latin before being adopted into English alongside French linguistic terminology. The social-descriptive sense has always been the core meaning in English.