womanhood

wom·an·hood | \ ˈwu̇-mən-ˌhu̇d

How to pronounce womanhood (audio)

, especially Southern ˈwō- or ˈwə- \

Definition of womanhood

1a : the state of being a woman

b : the distinguishing character or qualities of a woman or of womankind

2 : women, womankind

Synonyms & Antonyms Example Sentences Learn More about womanhood

Keep scrolling for more

Examples of womanhood in a Sentence

a young girl on the verge of womanhood What is your view of womanhood? The book is a celebration of womanhood.

Recent Examples on the Web Some of the most intriguing perspectives on the body are coming from women working beyond the cisgender symbology of womanhood. — Amanda Hess, New York Times, "The Wild Woman Awakens," 17 Dec. 2019 The sunny blond actress and singer whose frothy comedic roles opposite the likes of Rock Hudson and Cary Grant made her one of Hollywood’s biggest stars in the 1950s and ’60s and a symbol of wholesome American womanhood. — Bernard Mcghee, The Denver Post, "Final goodbye: Recalling influential people who died in 2019," 16 Dec. 2019 Sounds like an accurate portrayal of black womanhood. — Gina Cherelus, New York Times, "What ‘Queen & Slim’ Gets Right About Black Women," 29 Nov. 2019 This year, the Smithsonian museum once again drew celebrities, newsmakers and women from around the country for its 2nd annual summit celebrating Black womanhood. — Donna M. Owens, Essence, "Museum Summit For Black Women Draws Yara Shahidi, Stacey Abrams And More," 17 June 2019 Better late than never for Tiffany Haddish to celebrate her womanhood. — Benjamin Vanhoose, PEOPLE.com, "Mazel Tov! Tiffany Haddish Throws Her Own A-List 'Black Mitzvah' Party for 40th Birthday," 4 Dec. 2019 Nearly all of the protagonists in its wildly kaleidoscopic survey of nearly a century of womanhood are black or brown, living out their lives on the less-visible fringes of England’s technically invisible but still intransigent caste system. — Leah Greenblatt, EW.com, "Booker Prize winner Girl, Woman, Other is an essential novel of race and gender: Review," 3 Dec. 2019 Beside these volumes on the complexities of womanhood, Barbie’s office computer prompts visitors to email her. — Lauren Helmer, al, "Birmingham Museum of Art exhibit examines Barbie’s legacy," 13 Nov. 2019 There are implications of something revolutionary: throwaway references to unwed mothers in Istanbul and cash embezzled from refugees, montages of multicultural womanhood, a quick shot of birth control pills that kinda killed me. — Darren Franich, EW.com, "Charlie's Angels unleashes a riotous Kristen Stewart on movie that is try-hard trash: EW review," 12 Nov. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'womanhood.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Keep scrolling for more

Learn More about womanhood

Dictionary Entries near womanhood

Statistics for womanhood

Last Updated

8 Jan 2020

Cite this Entry

“Womanhood.” The Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster Inc., https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/womanhood. Accessed 21 January 2020.

Keep scrolling for more

More Definitions for womanhood

womanhood

noun

English Language Learners Definition of womanhood

: the state or condition of being an adult woman and no longer a girl

: women in general

See the full definition for womanhood in the English Language Learners Dictionary

womanhood

wom·an·hood | \ ˈwu̇-mən-ˌhu̇d

\

Kids Definition of womanhood

1 : the state of being a woman She has grown to womanhood.

2 : womanly characteristics

3 : woman sense 2

Keep scrolling for more

WORD OF THE DAY

bonhomie

good-natured easy friendliness

Test Your Vocabulary

Intact Latin Quiz

What did focus mean in Latin?

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.