: the part of a Hindu or Muslim dwelling (as in India) that was formerly reserved for the women of the household
… the British turned sequestration of Indian women into one of their weapons justifying the civilizing mission; the alleged deplorable condition of women in the zenana was a way to get at Indian men.—
Sharmila Mukherjee
Sharmila Mukherjee… she had one distinct advantage where she could trump her male rivals: her access to Indian zenanas. No Englishman could go into the quarters of Indian women, and Fanny [Parkes] was determined to make the most of the opportunity and to report from beyond a frontier that her rivals could not cross.—William Dalrymple
William DalrympleExamples of zenana in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The 50-room retreat is styled after a zenana, or women’s quarters, with latticed interior balconies and niches from which a royal might gaze upon happenings below.
—Jennifer Flowers, AFAR Media, 3 Apr. 2025
The latter were sequestered from view and segregated in living quarters known as the zenana.
—Sharmila Mukherjee, The Seattle Times, 2 Jan. 2019
This made the zenana, or women’s quarters, an influential center of tastemakers and consumers.
—Lee Lawrence, WSJ, 10 Mar. 2018
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Jennifer Flowers, AFAR Media, 3 Apr. 2025
The latter were sequestered from view and segregated in living quarters known as the zenana.
—Sharmila Mukherjee, The Seattle Times, 2 Jan. 2019
This made the zenana, or women’s quarters, an influential center of tastemakers and consumers.
—Lee Lawrence, WSJ, 10 Mar. 2018
Cite this Entry
“Zenana.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/zenana. Accessed 13 Nov. 2025.
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