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young woman

young woman

519 1.0
A female person in her teens or twenties
  • noun
  • /jʌŋ ˈwʊmən/
translation icon : mujer joven
  • The young woman was excited to start her first day at university.
  • girls and young women
  • a beautiful young woman
  • young women and children

He, he meets this young woman at college.

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Examples

  • She's a remarkable young woman.

  • The face on its screen was that of a young woman, fresh-faced and eager.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • I just saw a young woman actually from LA.

  • What is going on inside this young woman sitting there by the phone?

  • Should this young woman come back to the UK?

  • So we reached out to young women on social media.

  • Just this morning, some young women came in.

  • At the foot of those stairs stood a young woman with her hand to her face.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • The real surprise was that the young woman from New Mexico insisted on joining them.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • As I stood near the door, a young woman slipped into the room.

    Fiction book (1991)

Synonyms

girl
vsyoung woman
1.0

A young female who is not yet an adult

is aimed at older youth typically teens and twenties not children
young lady
vsyoung woman
487 1.0

A girl or young woman in her teens to early twenties

is a neutral term for a female person in her teens or twenties
missy
vsyoung woman
  • Offensive
95 8.8

A young girl or young woman someone speaks to in a casual, slightly rude way

is neutral and lacks the familiar or condescending tone
lass
vsyoung woman
  • UK
41 4.8

A girl or young woman

is neutral about marital status and focuses on youth only
lassie
vsyoung woman
  • UK
35 9.5

A Scottish word for a girl or young woman

is general and not marked by regional usage or extra youthfulness
miss
vsyoung woman
  • Informal
19 2.8

A young woman or girl called in a polite, friendly way

is a neutral descriptor rather than an informal form of address

Antonyms

293 1.0

A woman who is past middle age

How Young

girl
1.0
young woman
519 1.0
woman
1.0

Surface Forms

young woman singular
young women plural

Morphology

young + woman

The phrase 'young woman' is fully compositional: its meaning is directly derived from 'young' (not old, youthful) modifying 'woman' (an adult female). This straightforward adjective + noun combination follows common cross-linguistic patterns, so a B1 learner who knows both words will readily understand the intended sense.

Etymology

Young woman simply joins young and woman. Picture a woman who is still young, maybe in her teens or twenties, so it means 'a female person who is young'.