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
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
But Mary declined, preferring an informal gentlewoman’s agreement instead.
—Sarah Holzmann, Smithsonian Magazine, 8 Feb. 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
But Mary declined, preferring an informal gentlewoman’s agreement instead.
—Sarah Holzmann, Smithsonian Magazine, 8 Feb. 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
One of his stories is about a Southern gentlewoman who keeps her dead fiance’s corpse in her bed.
—Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 11 Apr. 2023
The two actors dated in the eighties and eventually married other people, but, ever the gentlewoman, Mirren has nothing but praise for the Irish actor.
—Elizabeth Logan, Glamour, 22 Nov. 2022
Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 29 May 2025
But Mary declined, preferring an informal gentlewoman’s agreement instead.
—Sarah Holzmann, Smithsonian Magazine, 8 Feb. 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
But Mary declined, preferring an informal gentlewoman’s agreement instead.
—Sarah Holzmann, Smithsonian Magazine, 8 Feb. 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
One of his stories is about a Southern gentlewoman who keeps her dead fiance’s corpse in her bed.
—Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 11 Apr. 2023
The two actors dated in the eighties and eventually married other people, but, ever the gentlewoman, Mirren has nothing but praise for the Irish actor.
—Elizabeth Logan, Glamour, 22 Nov. 2022
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gentlewoman
Noun
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American Love Story will focus on the whirlwind romance between JFK Jr. — son of President John F. Kennedy and first lady Jackie Kennedy — and Bessette, a fashion publicist.—
Meredith Kile,
People.com,
13 June 2025
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Hundreds of unneeded hallway lockers hide behind decorative paper and student posters of Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai, Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor and former first lady Michelle Obama, whose father attended in the 1950s.—
Jennifer Smith Richards,
ProPublica,
13 June 2025
Noun
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The 60-year-old countess has broken her silence after she was seen sporting a massive diamond on her left ring finger while riding a scooter Monday in Sag Harbor, hours after she was snapped getting cozy with an unidentified man, Us Weekly reports.—
Jami Ganz,
New York Daily News,
3 June 2025
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Prince Andrew had gone to live on the French Rivera with a countess.—
Michael Goldstein,
Forbes.com,
23 May 2025
Noun
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While Jon is bound to leadership by a sense of duty, Daenerys sees herself as a liberator, a queen steeped in moral righteousness who freed slaves across the sea for the greater good.—
David Sims,
The Atlantic,
14 July 2017
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THE TRENDSETTER Salt & Straw is the homecoming queen of ice cream in LA.—
Cole Kazdin,
Los Angeles Magazine,
14 July 2017
Cite this Entry
“Gentlewoman.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gentlewoman. Accessed 18 Jun. 2025.
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