female

forbidden words: female

female adjective

having or relating to a gender identity that corresponds to a complex, variable set of social and cultural roles, traits, and behaviors assigned to people of the sex that typically produces egg cells.
a. Biology. of, relating to, or being an animal or human of the sex or sexual phase that normally produces egg cells during reproduction.
b. Botany. designating or relating to a plant or its reproductive structure that produces or contains elements requiring fertilization.
c. Botany. (of seed plants) pistillate.
of, relating to, or characteristic of a female person; feminine: female charm.
female suffrage;
female charm.
comprising female people.
a female readership.
Machinery. being or having a recessed part into which a corresponding part fits.
a female plug.

noun

a female person.
Biology. an animal, plant, or plant structure of the sex or sexual phase that normally produces egg cells during reproduction.

Other Word Forms

femaleness noun
antifemale adjective
unfemale adjective
‘femaleness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of female¹

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English, variant (by association with male ) of femelle, from Anglo-French femaile, female, femell, Old French femel(l)e, from Latin fēmella, diminutive of fēmina “woman” ( -elle ); in Vulgar Latin developing the sense “female of an animal”

Synonym Study

See woman. Female, feminine, effeminate are adjectives that describe women and girls or attributes and conduct culturally ascribed to them. Female, which is applied to plants and animals as well as to human beings, is often used as a biological or physiological descriptor, classifying individuals on the basis of their potential or actual ability to produce offspring in bisexual reproduction. It contrasts with male in all uses: her oldest female relative; the female parts of the flower. Feminine refers essentially to qualities or behaviors deemed by a culture or society to be especially appropriate to or ideally associated with women and girls. In American and Western European culture, these have traditionally included features such as delicacy, gentleness, gracefulness, and patience: to dance with feminine grace; a feminine sensitivity to moods. Feminine is also, less frequently, used to refer to physical features: a lovely feminine figure; small, feminine hands. Effeminate is most often applied derogatorily to men or boys, suggesting that they have character or behavior traits culturally believed to be appropriate to women and girls rather than to men: an effeminate horror of rough play; an effeminate speaking style. See also womanly.

from — Dictionary.com | Meanings & Definitions of English Words. (2025d). In Dictionary.com.

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example sentences: female

“They would ask, ‘How can we trust a house built by a woman? How can I trust my money and property with a young female engineer?'”
From BBC

Ms Logan was the second female firefighter to die on duty in peacetime, after Fleur Lombard, 21, died in Bristol in 1996.
From BBC

Debora, you have a character, a female vice president, who’s been doing the bidding of an older president whose capabilities have been called into question, and spoiler alert, she becomes president.
From Los Angeles Times

Laughing at the lyrics of “Manchild” gives female audiences a little more room to forgive themselves for all the bad boys they’ve dated.
From Salon

The council conceded that they had a legal obligation to provide male and female facilities at a hearing at the Court of Session in Edinburgh.
From BBC

from — Dictionary.com | Meanings & Definitions of English Words. (2025d). In Dictionary.com.

June 14th, 2025
Flagstaff, Arizona

This is one of the words/ phrases you can’t say in the new Trump Administration. See a comprehensive list at the Forbidden Words Project.

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