as in lady
a woman of high birth or social position
in the 19th century a number of American gentlewomen used their wealth and influence to further abolitionism, women's rights, and other worthy causes
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Recent Examples of gentlewoman
Those laughs are balanced with real world issues, and a longing for these gentlewomen locked into the suffocating zeitgeist of early 1800s British Regency.
—
David John Chávez, Mercury News, 12 Dec. 2025
Social status and fashion conspired to make gentlewomen’s footwear of every sort flimsy.
—Literary Hub, 4 Aug. 2025
The novelists’ parents were Patrick and Maria Brontë, an Irish clergyman and a Cornish gentlewoman who married in 1812.
—Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 29 May 2025
Rep Miller recognized Rep McBride as 'gentleman' and 'Mr.' NOT as 'gentlewoman' and 'Ms.' McBride is a MAN!!!
—Martha McHardy, Newsweek, 4 Mar. 2025
Maybe Kate can get Parton to hop back across the pond to play a few songs and, as a real Southern gentlewoman, teach those rather provincial Brits how to properly serve tea.
—Elizabeth Logan, Glamour, 28 Aug. 2023
In the north, Solomon knew, young oblates, the cherished daughters of gentlewomen, were given to the Lord out of the ranks of the nobility.
—Cynthia Ozick, Harper’s Magazine , 10 Apr. 2023
David John Chávez, Mercury News, 12 Dec. 2025
Social status and fashion conspired to make gentlewomen’s footwear of every sort flimsy.
—Literary Hub, 4 Aug. 2025
The novelists’ parents were Patrick and Maria Brontë, an Irish clergyman and a Cornish gentlewoman who married in 1812.
—Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 29 May 2025
Rep Miller recognized Rep McBride as 'gentleman' and 'Mr.' NOT as 'gentlewoman' and 'Ms.' McBride is a MAN!!!
—Martha McHardy, Newsweek, 4 Mar. 2025
Maybe Kate can get Parton to hop back across the pond to play a few songs and, as a real Southern gentlewoman, teach those rather provincial Brits how to properly serve tea.
—Elizabeth Logan, Glamour, 28 Aug. 2023
In the north, Solomon knew, young oblates, the cherished daughters of gentlewomen, were given to the Lord out of the ranks of the nobility.
—Cynthia Ozick, Harper’s Magazine , 10 Apr. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gentlewoman
Noun
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In less than 48 hours, its Facebook group jumped from 30 area ladies to over 1,000 women across the nation, as well as in other countries.—
Denise Crosby,
Chicago Tribune,
19 June 2026
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And that, ladies and gentlemen, has to be one of the most surreal paragraphs ever printed in The New York Times.—
Maureen Dowd,
Mercury News,
18 June 2026
Noun
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But the countess couldn’t stop wondering where Alberta’s dress could be.—
Rachel Elspeth Gross,
Forbes.com,
15 May 2026
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Following her turn as a countess in last summer’s Shakespeare in the Park production of Twelfth Night, and as a duchess in the Metropolitan Opera’s La Fille du Régiment in October, the actress will play the title role in The Misanthrope from June through August.—
Lizzie Hyman,
PEOPLE,
29 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Douglas Fir sleeps up to eight guests, offering two bathrooms and three bedrooms—two of which have queen beds, and one of which is a family suite on the ground floor with a queen bed and two twins.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
16 June 2026
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In 1893, John Watson Foster helped overthrow the queen of Hawaii.—
Ta-Nehisi Coates,
Vanity Fair,
15 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Gentlewoman.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gentlewoman. Accessed 22 Jun. 2026.
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