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Glite Dictionary
womanishly

womanishly

7.5
In a gentle, delicate way often seen as typical of women
  • adverb
  • /ˈwʊməˌnɪʃli/
  • Archaic
translation icon : femeninamente
  • She spoke womanishly, using a soft tone that emphasized her gentleness.

Examples

  • He approached the task womanishly, showing great care and attention to detail.

  • "Whoo," Carmel's boyfriend says later, as they are leaving, in a wavy, womanishly high-pitched voice.

    Fiction book (1998)

  • The painting was done womanishly, with delicate brushstrokes and a gentle color palette.

Synonyms

effeminately
vswomanishly
  • Offensive
1 8.0

In a gentle, delicate way people often see as not masculine

focuses on delicacy or gentle behaviour rather than lack of masculinity
femininely
vswomanishly
1 4.4

In a gentle, graceful way that people link to women

often stresses delicacy or gentle manner rather than general traits

Antonyms

manfully
  • Archaic
2 6.8

Act bravely and steadily when facing difficulty

How Feminine

effeminately
  • Offensive
1 8.0
womanishly
  • Archaic
7.5
femininely
1 4.4
girlishly
1 5.8

Surface Forms

womanishly positive

Morphology

womanishly = womanish (transparent) = woman + ish + ly

Formed by adding the standard adverbial suffix '-ly' to the adjective 'womanish'; the derivation is direct and meaning is predictable.

Etymology

The word womanishly comes from woman plus the ending -ish ('like') and -ly (making it an adverb), so it literally means 'in a way like a woman'. That's why it is used for actions that seem gentle or delicate.