feminineadjective
uk/ˈfem.ɪ.nɪn/us/ˈfem.ə.nɪn/feminine adjective (FEMALE)
C1 having characteristics that are traditionally thought to be typical of or suitable for a woman:
With his long dark eyelashes, he looked almost feminine.
The current style in evening wear is soft, romantic, and feminine.
Her clothes are always very feminine.
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masculine
More examples
- She looks more feminine with longer hair.
- She's very pretty and feminine and I think men like that.
- I feel more feminine in skirts and dresses.
- The dress combines stylish lines with an attractive floral print for a classically feminine look.
- She'll have to use all her feminine wiles to get him to agree.
feminine adjective (GRAMMAR)
written abbreviation fem., f language belonging to the group of nouns that, in some languages, are not masculine or neuter:
In French, "table" is feminine.
language used to refer to a particular form of a noun in English, such as "actress", that refers only to a female person. These feminine forms are now being used less often.
More examples
- The French word for 'sun' is masculine - 'le soleil', but the German word is feminine - 'die Sonne'.
- The definite article 'la' is used before feminine words in French and Italian.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Linguistics: grammatical terms
- ablative
- apposition
- attributive
- collocate
- comparative
- declension
- decline
- dependent clause
- double negative
- grammar
- grammarian
- grammatical
- independent clause
- indirect object
- inflect
- interrogative
- modifier
- plurality
- reflexive
- superlative
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femininity
noun [ U ] uk/ˌfem.əˈnɪn.ə.ti/us/ˌfem.əˈnɪn.ə.t̬i/usually approving
Long hair was traditionally regarded as a sign of femininity.