Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

womanly

/ˈwʊmənli/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.51 in modern English

Syllables: wom-an-ly
IPA: /ˈwʊmənli/

15

Scrabble Score

7

Letters

3

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Considered typical of, stereotypical of, or appropriate to women; feminine.

adj

adv

In the manner of a woman.

Example Sentences

"I know that the sound of it moved me more even than her words, it was so very human - so very womanly."
""What I mean, a woman who doesn't go in for booze and sport and cigarettes. Man gets sick of these tough flappers. Give me a womanly woman every time. As I said before, I could see at a glance that you were a thoroughly womanly woman.""

Etymology

From Middle English womanly, wommanlich, wommanly, wommanlych, wummonlich, equivalent to woman + -ly (adjectival suffix).

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: womanly,wommanlich,wommanly,wommanlych,wummonlich, wommanliche,wommanly
Suffix: woman

Inflected Forms

womanlier (comparative) womanliest (superlative) womonly (alternative) womynly (alternative)

Derived Forms

womanliness

Frequently Paired Words

girly manly

Synonyms

womanlily feminine

Antonyms

masculine male manly

Questions

How do you pronounce womanly?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈwʊmənli/.
What does womanly mean?: Considered typical of, stereotypical of, or appropriate to women; feminine.
Where does womanly come from?: It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce womanly

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “womanly”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈwʊmənli/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “womanly”.
Repeat and practice — Say “womanly” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.