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 matronlyPinkham’s matronly smile, printed on labels and advertisements, became as well known as Mona Lisa’s.—Shayla Love, The Atlantic, 30 Jan. 2025 Every few days, a matronly Spanish woman appeared at the fountain to give me a plastic bag with bananas and bread, and sometimes little packets of butter and jam.—Jon Lee Anderson, The New Yorker, 8 Jan. 2024 Transforming the elegant British, non-Jewish actress into the matronly prime minister required prosthetics for the cheeks, chin, nose and neck, plus contact lenses and a wig.—Valli Herman, Los Angeles Times, 1 Jan. 2024 Mary’s childhood has all of the workhouse tragedy of a Dickens novel, plus insufficient scenes of Susan Lynch as a stern, matronly figure from her youth.—Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019 See All Example Sentences for matronly
On the left: a photograph of a blurred womanly figure, her white dress smeared into an avian or angelic wingspan, her head eerily effaced, allowing the forest behind her to show sharply through.
—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
1 Dec. 2025
Tarun would tease her, and my mother would look sorrowfully toward Kavitha, as if the two of them now shared some womanly burden.
Emin’s masterpiece thumbed its nose at a tradition of recumbent feminine flesh on tousled white sheets (think Titian’s Venus of Urbino, Manet’s Olympia, or any number of bosomy Lucian Freud nudes).
—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
21 Apr. 2026
Fans of adidas will love the brand's iconic three-stripe design featured heavily throughout, and newcomers who prefer a feminine touch might fall for some of the pieces in pastel colorways or the flowy, body-skimming styles.
In exploring the blues, Marks is less interested in 21st-century iterations of the tradition than in delving into the music’s matriarchal roots.
—
Andrew Gilbert,
Mercury News,
13 Apr. 2026
Emma’s kind, matriarchal presence — which has been a constant in the show since season one — is lacking in the first half of this season, underscoring the impact of her separation from Joe.
—
Lisa de los Reyes,
HollywoodReporter,
30 Mar. 2026