debutante

noun

Definition of debutantenext
as in maid
a young upper-class woman who has begun going to special parties where she will meet and be seen by other people from the upper class The invitation-only event is a prized ticket for the city's debutantes.

Related Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of debutante That creates a rare opportunity for tournament debutante Cape Verde, the second-smallest country to qualify for a World Cup. — Los Angeles Times, 19 June 2026 Cape Verde, Curaçao and Jordan are also among the debutantes. — Amna Subhan, AJC.com, 9 June 2026 The Deb dispute is playing out across different fronts in Los Angeles and Australia, overshadowing the feel-good movie about outback teens attending a debutante ball. — Jake Kanter, Deadline, 28 Apr. 2026 At balls that approximate what Bridgerton might be like if the charming debutantes were matched with white-haired monsters instead of handsome, age-appropriate nobles, Commanders spike their prospective Wives’ drinks. — Judy Berman, Time, 8 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for debutante
Recent Examples of Synonyms for debutante
  1. maid
  2. girl
  3. virgin
  4. ingenue
  5. maiden
  6. deb
Noun
  • The maid-servant has just dipped a flannel into the white basin of water at her feet and is now holding the flannel up to wash Mary’s face.
    — Artforum, Artforum, 4 Nov. 2026
  • The piece was presented by Queen Anne to her maid-of-honour, Lady Elizabeth Russell, who married Peter Bowlby circa 1750.
    — Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 3 Nov. 2026
Definition of maid
Noun
  • Santa Margarita’s domination in high school girls golf continued Monday, with the Eagles winning the Southern Section Division 1 team title by four strokes over Orange Lutheran at Los Serranos Golf Club in Chino Hills.
    — Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 3 Nov. 2026
  • Track Pants Want to get in on the cool-girl pants trend backed by PEOPLE writers and A-listers like Jennifer Lawrence?
    — Nicol Natale, PEOPLE, 2 Nov. 2026
Definition of girl
Noun
  • Commitments to replace virgin down with recycled or animal-free alternatives accounted for 85 percent of the reduction commitments identified.
    — Alexandra Harrell, Footwear News, 27 Oct. 2026
  • His creator, an unnamed basket-weaver (Peter Dinklage), braided him as a mate for a lonely virgin, a fisherwoman (Olivia Colman) who stomps around her rustic village smelling like sushi and tossing her head back in an Eliza Doolittle guffaw.
    — Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of virgin
Noun
  • Johnson, who a near decade ago was a bubbly ingenue on the brink of superstardom, has since developed a reputation for a certain cool-girl deadpan opacity, a kind of mischievous remove during press appearances.
    — Alessandra Codinha, Vogue, 18 Sep. 2026
  • McInerny saw a character who deviated from the usual ingenue.
    — Carole Horst, Variety, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of ingenue
Noun
  • So, about a year into his professional career, Brennan had already earned a PGA Tour membership, and less than a year on from that maiden victory, he's earned two more wins.
    — Mark Harris OutKick, FOXNews.com, 12 Oct. 2026
  • There was a procession to the church of white clad handmaidens (tärnor), star boys (stjärngossar) and gingerbread men (pepparkaksgubbar) with candle wreaths on the maidens’ heads – now battery powered rather than actual flames.
    — Natasha Langan, TheWeek, 29 Sep. 2026
Definition of maiden
Noun
  • Kemper and her older sister (far left) posed with another deb dressed in pink, Reagan Sacks (far right), who brought some drama to the blush color in a tulle Schiaparelli gown.
    — Zoey Lyttle, PEOPLE, 2 Dec. 2025
  • The viral video showed Martin, dressed in custom blue Valentino, in a moment with another deb, French countess Aliénor Loppin de Montmort.
    — Kathleen Walsh, Glamour, 18 Dec. 2024
Definition of deb

Browse Nearby Words

debut
debutante
debutantes
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Debutante.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/debutante. Accessed 8 Nov. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of cockamamie

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Old-Timey Vehicles

The Words of the Week - Nov. 6

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
woman sitting on floor holding book in front of her face on pink background
Famous Novels, Last Lines Quiz Needless to say, spoiler alert.
See All