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Alumnus or Alumna?
Many people are comfortable using the word alumni to refer to someone who was a student of a particular school. However, others feel quite strongly that this is an error and that the following forms should be used: alumnus (for one male), alumni (for multiple males, or for a mix of males and females), alumna (for one female), and alumnae (for multiple females). The shortened form alum and its plural form alums began to be used in the 19th century. Initially, alum was widely viewed as highly colloquial or informal, but is increasing in use as a gender-neutral alternative.
Examples of alumna in a Sentence
Los Angeles Times, 17 Nov. 2023
Yuan Yuan, an NYU Tisch Grad Film alumna whose project Late Spring is about a Chinese factory worker who comes to New York for her daughter’s college graduation and discovers that the girl is missing.
—Rebecca Sun, The Hollywood Reporter, 7 Nov. 2023
There will also be a special memoriam tribute to Friendly House alumna Carrie White, a celebrity hairstylist and author.
—Caroline Brew, Variety, 24 Oct. 2023
Other highlights include the filmmakers’ lunch, which will feature a keynote speech by two-time Academy Award-winning film costume designer Ruth E. Carter, an alumna of Hampton University.
—Melissa Noel, Essence, 16 Oct. 2023
Boston University alumna Olivia Culpo teamed up with eBay for an affordable line of dorm decor to make college feel more like home.
—Madison Roberts, Peoplemag, 2 Aug. 2023
The 30 Rock alumna and Bold and the Beautiful actress got engaged during the Italian getaway, with boyfriend Adam Taylor dropping to one knee to propose as the two stood on a rocky beach in Positano.
—Dave Quinn, Peoplemag, 24 Sep. 2023
Piza, an alumna of CAA, brings with her clients including Kendrick Sampson, JC Caylen and Olly Sholotan.
—Rebecca Sun, The Hollywood Reporter, 7 Sep. 2023
Yee is a alumna of the High School Journalism Institute, an annual collaboration among The Oregonian/OregonLive, Oregon State University and other Oregon media organizations.
—Kalia Yee, oregonlive, 26 June 2023
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These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'alumna.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Latin, feminine of alumnus
1843, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Dictionary Entries Near alumna
Cite this Entry
“Alumna.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/alumna. Accessed 1 Dec. 2023.
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