matronly

Definition of matronlynext

Example Sentences

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 matronly Pinkham’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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for matronly
Adjective
  • 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.
    Madhuri Vijay, New Yorker, 16 Nov. 2025
Adjective
  • Everyone has to play their role, the masculine and feminine.
    Angelique Jackson, Variety, 28 Apr. 2026
  • Hygiene products are included, too, for deodorant, feminine needs and other concerns.
    Doug Ross, Chicago Tribune, 28 Apr. 2026
Adjective
  • Song of the Goddess, 1992, which Pau made while living in New York, is a tribute to the secret real-life romance between two female Cantonese opera stars, Yam Kim-fai and Pak Suet-sin.
    Pauline J. Yao, Artforum, 2 May 2026
  • Investigators said the argument escalated into a physical fight when the female suspect began swinging and striking the victim in the chest and head and then pulling her hair.
    Alexa Ashwell, Baltimore Sun, 1 May 2026
Adjective
  • This campy, reality-shifting comedy series questions what would happen if a flaming misogynist woke up in a world that was completely matriarchal and subjugated men based on their gender.
    Madeleine Janz, PEOPLE, 30 Apr. 2026
  • 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

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Matronly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/matronly. Accessed 2 May. 2026.

More from Merriam-Webster on matronly

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster