Woman Definition, Pronunciation, and Usage Examples

Meaning 1：adult female human (woman)

woman 🔊

/ˈwʊmən/

An adult female human being.

Smiling adult woman preparing healthy meal in kitchen

adult female human 🔊

➕

/ˈædʌlt ˈfiːmeɪl ˈhjuːmən/

A female human who has reached adulthood.

📁 Category：Social Roles 🔖 Level：Beginner

📘 Details & Usage

📖 Root Explanation

From Old English wīfman (wīf 'woman' + mann 'human').

💡 Mnemonic

Think 'womb-man': the one who carries life. This links the word to biological nurturing.

📖 Example

At the community garden, a woman is carefully planting flowers with her children, teaching them about nature. 🔊 At the community garden, a woman is carefully planting flowers with her children, teaching them about nature.

🔗 Collocations

women's rights – Rights specifically for women, such as legal and social equality.

women's health – Medical and wellness issues unique to the female body.

women's empowerment – The process of increasing women's social, economic, and political power.

🔄 Synonyms

female (n.) – A person or animal of the sex that can bear offspring.

lady (n.) – A polite or formal term for a woman.

adult female (n.) – A fully grown female human.

🚫 Antonyms

man (n.) – An adult male human being.

🌱 Derivatives

womanly (adj.) – Having qualities traditionally associated with women, such as gentleness or nurturing.

womanhood (n.) – The state or condition of being a woman.

womanish (adj.) – Characteristic of a woman (often used pejoratively for a man).

📖 Cultural Story

Woman evolved from Old English 'wīfman', combining 'wīf' (woman) and 'mann' (human). Over time, the 'f' sound changed, and the word shortened to 'womman' then 'woman', shifting from a gender-neutral 'human' to specifically an adult female.