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
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
Belfast, Dune, Licorice Pizza, The Power of the Dog, and West Side Story all got nominated by the Directors Guild, and unless something truly wild happens (perhaps Kenneth Branagh will actually turn out to be an Elizabethan gentlewoman in disguise), each of them should be a lock.
—Vulture, 3 Feb. 2022
Is the gentlewoman nonetheless a role of sorts?
—Amy Verner, Vogue, 17 Jan. 2022
Two months earlier a gentlewoman had stopped there with her newborn boy.
—The Economist, 4 July 2020
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
Belfast, Dune, Licorice Pizza, The Power of the Dog, and West Side Story all got nominated by the Directors Guild, and unless something truly wild happens (perhaps Kenneth Branagh will actually turn out to be an Elizabethan gentlewoman in disguise), each of them should be a lock.
—Vulture, 3 Feb. 2022
Is the gentlewoman nonetheless a role of sorts?
—Amy Verner, Vogue, 17 Jan. 2022
Two months earlier a gentlewoman had stopped there with her newborn boy.
—The Economist, 4 July 2020
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gentlewoman
Noun
-
Long ago, some smart young ladies started buying red lipstick and kissing the cheeks of the ROTC members of Benedictine Military School, one of the local Catholic high schools.—
Jessica Farthing,
Southern Living,
10 Mar. 2025
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Here are Episode 1's standout performances, who made it to Hollywood and which lucky lady is getting fast-tracked through Hollywood Week with a platinum ticket.—
KiMi Robinson,
USA TODAY,
10 Mar. 2025
Noun
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An epic love story between an American big game hunter and a British countess was upended by the strangling mores of class and tradition.—
Amanda Whiting,
Vulture,
23 Feb. 2025
-
Well, in this case, maybe a countess: At awards shows, the actor likes to tap into her inner Bravolebrity—Countess LuAnn de Lesseps, specifically.—
Hannah Jackson,
Vogue,
8 Feb. 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
-
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 13 Mar. 2025.
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