debutantes

Definition of debutantesnext
plural of debutante
as in maids
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.

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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 debutantes The building was popular with debutantes. Bailey Bujnosek, InStyle, 23 Feb. 2026 Like many other balls, the Opera Ball opens with a waltz performed by 160 bright-eyed and bushy-tailed young couples, who are referred to as debutantes. Valeriya Safronova, Vanity Fair, 19 Feb. 2026 Each year, noteworthy families flock to the famed Hotel Shangri-La in Paris for a formal celebration of the debutantes, who traditionally work with designers to dream up bespoke haute couture gowns. Zoey Lyttle, PEOPLE, 4 Dec. 2025 Even at some of the dressiest Mardi Gras balls in the city, you’re guaranteed to find debutantes and knights alike gathered around a table full of Foosackly’s. Mary Shannon Wells, Southern Living, 23 Nov. 2025 The Mitford sisters, as debutantes, were expected to quietly marry into their class and fade into the woodwork. Mimi Pond, People.com, 14 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for debutantes
Noun
  • Doris and Ann, the family’s longtime upstairs-downstairs maids, were there too.
    Jennifer Cannon, Vanity Fair, 7 Apr. 2026
  • Roughly 82% of the Bay Area’s maids and housekeepers are immigrants, and close to 40% of the total are undocumented.
    Sara DiNatale, San Francisco Chronicle, 25 Mar. 2026
Noun
  • King George enjoyed an afternoon with his two girls while at the Royal Lodge at Windsor in this sweet photo from 1946.
    Stephanie Sengwe, PEOPLE, 21 Apr. 2026
  • Following his role as a coach during Toyota’s Glow Up Classic during Super Bowl week in San Francisco, Pittman is back with the automotive manufacturer for a special NFL Draft flag football training camp featuring Pittsburgh high school girls flag players on the eve of draft night.
    Scott Thompson, FOXNews.com, 20 Apr. 2026
Noun
  • But fans of the myth of Erzsébet Báthory, who was accused circa the early 17th century of killing young virgins to bathe in their blood for her own beautification, might be let down by what’s ultimately a silly, madcap Vienna adventure.
    Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 18 Feb. 2026
  • The film, directed by renowned German New Wave artist and filmmaker Ulrike Ottinger, is the latest retelling of the story of Hungarian Countess Elizabeth Báthory, a real-life aristocrat accused of bathing in the blood of virgins to retain her youth.
    Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 14 Jan. 2026
Noun
  • Seen on the likes of Pamela Anderson, Ariana Grande, and most recently, Vera Wang, the micro bang was first popularized in the 1950s by film ingenues like Audrey Hepburn.
    Kaleigh Werner, Footwear News, 6 Nov. 2025
Noun
  • This British production from Hammer Films and director Roy Ward Baker showcases moon maidens, old-fashioned lunar shootouts, buggy chases, and an ex-astronaut turned mercenary salvager trying to snag a 6000-pound sapphire asteroid from orbit for a billionaire industrialist.
    Jeff Spry, Space.com, 30 Mar. 2026
  • The 2026 Miss Smiling Irish Eyes is Molly McKenna, and the court maidens Kennedy Kuntz and Sidney Hoover.
    Patrick Damp, CBS News, 14 Mar. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Debutantes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/debutantes. Accessed 22 Apr. 2026.

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