woman Definition
woman (wo̵om′ən)
noun pl. wom′enwim′ən
- the female human being
- women collectively
- an adult female human being
- a female servant
- Dialectal a wife
- a sweetheart or a mistress
- womanly qualities or characteristics; femininity the woman in her
Etymology: ME wumman < OE wimmann < wifmann < wif, female, wife + mann, human being, man: rounding of vowel due to infl. of the initial w-
adjective
- of or characteristic of a woman or women; feminine
- female a woman scientist
woman Idioms
the little woman
☆ Slang one's wife
the other woman
Informal the woman with whom a married man had or is having an affair
woman Synonyms
woman
n.
An adult female
female, lady, dame, matron, gentlewoman, maid, spinster, debutante, nymph, virgin, girl, old woman, chick*, bird*, broad*, fem*, doll*, deb*. * A wife or mistress
A female servant
companion, housekeeper, cleaning lady, charlady (British), washerwoman, laundress, cook, maid, serving lady; see also servant, slave 1.Womankind
femininity, fair sex, eternal feminine, the world of women, the female of the species*, the weaker vessel*; see also womanhood 2.
woman is the standard general term for the adult human being of the sex distinguished from man; female, referring specif. to sex, is applied to plants and animals, but is now regarded as a mildly contemptuous equivalent for womanthat strong-minded female is here again, except in scientific, technical, or statistical use, as in population tables; lady, originally used specif. of a woman of the upper classes and until recently commonly used in polite or genteel reference to any woman, is now often avoided as a general substitute for woman, except in such formulas as ""ladies and gentlemen.''
woman Usage Examples
Possessives
- suffrage: Told largely through letters home and diaries, this book throws light on wartime conditions and the cause of women's suffrage.
- empowerment: Mixed gender groups do not allow women's empowerment, so group lending targets women only.
- magazine: I worked full-time on a woman's magazine then went freelance and began writing fiction alongside journalism.
Converse of object
- marry: As a poor woman married to a rich man, she lives upon his riches.
- age: However, Tesco will continue to provide the morning-after pill to women aged 16 and over.
- affect: Anorexia and bulimia are two common eating disorders, which affect women in particular.
- encourage: While clearly not the intent, I fear they encourage women to segregate themselves, and work only within the Debian Women community.
- treat: Both all-women psychiatric hospitals specialized in treating women 's psychological issues.
Adjective modifier
- pregnant: Pregnant women with epilepsy should be treated with special care.
- young: A young woman may belong to the Senior Section from her 14th to her 26th birthday.
- married: She now published a story that Beecher was having an affair with a married woman.
- old: The incident outside the Grammar School on Priory Road where a 45 year old woman was making her way home.
- elderly: Serum type I collagen breakdown product ( serum CTX ) predicts hip fracture risk in elderly women: the EPIDOS study.
- postmenopausal: Obesity is a risk factor for breast cancer in postmenopausal women.
Modifies a noun
- prisoner: Women prisoners working in a munitions factory had attempted to pass on dynamite to them.
- poet: Akua Lezli Hope, African American woman poet, writer, paper maker - Poets are the unofficial legislators of the world.
Noun used with modifier
refugee: Includes recommendations to the Home Office and guidelines for the voluntary sector working with refugee women.
Preposition: after
menopause: Menopause Osteoporosis can affect older women after the menopause.
Preposition: with
- epilepsy: Pregnant women with epilepsy should be treated with special care.
- endometriosis: Women with endometriosis are often treated with hormones and medicines that lower their levels of estrogen.
Browse dictionary entries near woman
- ‹ wolves
- ‹ wolverine
- ‹ Wolverhampton
- ‹ wolver
- ‹ Wolsey
- ‹ Wolpert, Lewis
- ‹ Wolof
- ‹ Wollstonecraft, Mary also known as Mrs Godwin
- ‹ Wollstonecraft, Mary
- ‹ Wollstonecraft
- woman-hater ›
- -woman ›
- woman suffrage ›
- womanhood ›
- womanish ›
- womanize ›
- womankind ›
- womanlike ›
- womanly ›
- womanpower ›

