SYNONYMS AND RELATED EXPRESSIONS
spinster
noun
An old-fashioned term for an unmarried woman, often carrying a disparaging implication.
Local English device voice, when available. This is not a recorded dictionary pronunciation.
CHOOSE WITH CARE
A useful distinction
Dated and often disparaging. The historical marital-status use in this course is never-married, not widowed or divorced. Single or unmarried can have broader modern meanings.
An old-fashioned term for an unmarried woman, often carrying a disparaging implication
No close substitute is listed for this sense. The expressions below help explain the idea.
Related words and expressions
These extend or explain the idea and may require a different sentence structure.
Usage distinction
Return to topDated and often disparaging. The historical marital-status use in this course is never-married, not widowed or divorced. Single or unmarried can have broader modern meanings.
CHECK THE MEANING IN CONTEXT
See spinster in use
The archive used spinster as a historical marital-status label.
The editor explained why spinster may sound disparaging in modern description.
Compare an alternative with the original word in each passage. Shared meanings do not make every pair interchangeable.
Synonym reference scope and sources
The groups distinguish the senses selected for this study entry. Closest synonyms and broader related expressions have separate labels. The listed sources support lexical selection; not every phrase is a direct quotation from a source.
- WordNet 3.0 lexical database
- Merriam-Webster Dictionary: spinster
- Collins English Dictionary: spinster
How the synonym reference was prepared / WordNet 3.0 license