as in wives
a married woman in charge of a household
She was career-minded and never intended to be a 1950s style housewife.
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Recent Examples of housewives
In recent years, housewives have been introduced as highly polished.
—
Shelby Stewart, Essence, 12 May 2026
Nene Leakes is one of the housewives confirmed to appear during the Atlanta stop of the special event series.
—Armando Tinoco, Deadline, 11 May 2026
And nor are any of the spooky figures, which range from 1950s housewives to toothless hags.
—The Week, TheWeek, 7 May 2026
Fallen Angels' Rose Byrne and Kelli O’Hara are heaven-sent in this divine and delirious revival of Noël Coward’s sneakily groundbreaking 1925 play, about a pair of high-society housewives who hatch a plot to hook up with their former lover (Mark Consuelos).
—Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 3 May 2026
Minkoff previously had a health scare involving her high blood pressure during a housewives' trip to Barcelona, Spain.
—Vanessa Etienne, PEOPLE, 27 Apr. 2026
Wondering how the Ocean State's housewives celebrated Easter weekend?
—Catherine Messier, The Providence Journal, 6 Apr. 2026
At one point housewives were admonished not to shake their dust mops outdoors lest that contribute to smog.
—Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 26 Mar. 2026
On Bravo, Vanderpump Rules doubled down on filming when Scandoval dropped, but that doesn’t seem to be the case for these Utah housewives.
—Alejandra Gularte, Vulture, 26 Mar. 2026
Shelby Stewart, Essence, 12 May 2026
Nene Leakes is one of the housewives confirmed to appear during the Atlanta stop of the special event series.
—Armando Tinoco, Deadline, 11 May 2026
And nor are any of the spooky figures, which range from 1950s housewives to toothless hags.
—The Week, TheWeek, 7 May 2026
Fallen Angels' Rose Byrne and Kelli O’Hara are heaven-sent in this divine and delirious revival of Noël Coward’s sneakily groundbreaking 1925 play, about a pair of high-society housewives who hatch a plot to hook up with their former lover (Mark Consuelos).
—Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 3 May 2026
Minkoff previously had a health scare involving her high blood pressure during a housewives' trip to Barcelona, Spain.
—Vanessa Etienne, PEOPLE, 27 Apr. 2026
Wondering how the Ocean State's housewives celebrated Easter weekend?
—Catherine Messier, The Providence Journal, 6 Apr. 2026
At one point housewives were admonished not to shake their dust mops outdoors lest that contribute to smog.
—Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 26 Mar. 2026
On Bravo, Vanderpump Rules doubled down on filming when Scandoval dropped, but that doesn’t seem to be the case for these Utah housewives.
—Alejandra Gularte, Vulture, 26 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for housewives
Noun
-
At house parties, for instance, Nilsson would find the wives clustered in the kitchen while the men talked shop in another room.—
Jeremy Lybarger,
Artforum,
2 June 2026
-
The wives and girlfriends of the Golden Knights aren't just skating along with their partners.—
Tabitha Parent,
PEOPLE,
2 June 2026
Noun
-
Our ancestors—the hard-working, long-suffering peasant women who told these stories to each other and passed them down the generations through the oral tradition—knew everything there was to know about adversity.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 June 2026
-
Most of the men and women of CBS News are still in that fight.—
Brian Stelter,
CNN Money,
3 June 2026
Noun
-
Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker, for example, spoke at Benedictine College’s commencement in 2024 and encouraged female graduates to become homemakers.—
Austin Sarat,
Twin Cities,
29 May 2026
-
Tax breaks to reward male breadwinners and female homemakers.—
Helen Lewis,
The Atlantic,
14 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Housewives.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/housewives. Accessed 9 Jun. 2026.
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