woman Hear it!

woman Definition

woman (wo̵om′ən)

noun pl. wom′enwim′ən

    1. the female human being
    2. women collectively
  2. an adult female human being
  3. a female servant
    1. Dialectal a wife
    2. a sweetheart or a mistress
  5. 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

  1. of or characteristic of a woman or women; feminine
  2. 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.

  1. An adult female

    female, lady, dame, matron, gentlewoman, maid, spinster, debutante, nymph, virgin, girl, old woman, chick*, bird*, broad*, fem*, doll*, deb*. *

  2. A wife or mistress

    love, lover, wife, old lady*; see housewife, mistress 2.

  3. A female servant

    companion, housekeeper, cleaning lady, charlady (British), washerwoman, laundress, cook, maid, serving lady; see also servant, slave 1.

  4. 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.