feminine

/ˈfɛmɪnɪn/

//ˈfɛmɪnɪn// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"feminine" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“feminine” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #8,144. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#8,144
frequency rank, English
2,507
“F” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Of or pertaining to the female gender.

Corpus desk

Index EN-feminine · feminine · English

feminine · rank #8,144 · 11 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #8,144
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,507
  • PHOTO-FINISH exterior

Nearest frequency peer: exterior (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “feminine”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “feminine” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

feminine vs feminist
75% similar
feminine vs feminism
75% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for feminine
PropertyValue
Headwordfeminine
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈfɛmɪnɪn/
Letters8
Frequency rank#8,144
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “feminine”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).femininelands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “exterior” (#8,143), “exotic” (#8,142), “fountain” (#8,146). Among 2,507 “F” headwords, “feminine” is #8,144. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around feminine (IPA /ˈfɛmɪnɪn/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #8,144 among 2,507 “F” headwords. Wiktionary lists 8 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for feminine, with forms such as "efminine", "feimnine", and "femiinne". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "feminist", "feminism", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English feminine, femynyne, femynyn, from Old French feminin, feminine, from Latin fēminīnus, from fēmina (“woman”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁-m̥h₁n-eh₂ (“(the one) nursing, breastfeeding”). Related to fetus, feminism, filial, fellatio. The correct English form is feminine, spelled F-E-M-I-N-I-N-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Of or pertaining to the female gender.
  2. 2
    Of or pertaining to the female sex; biologically female, not male.
  3. 3
    Belonging to females; typically used by females.
  4. 4
    Having the qualities stereotypically associated with women: nurturing, not aggressive, sensual; womanly.
  5. 5
    Of, pertaining or belonging to the female grammatical gender, in languages that have gender distinctions.
  6. 6
    Of, pertaining or belonging to the female grammatical gender, in languages that have gender distinctions.
  7. 7
    Having the vowel harmony of a front vowel.
  8. 8
    Following or ending on an unstressed syllable.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how feminine appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Mary, Elizabeth, and Edith are feminine names.
  2. Her heavenly form Angelic, but more soft and feminine.

Etymology

From Middle English feminine, femynyne, femynyn, from Old French feminin, feminine, from Latin fēminīnus, from fēmina (“woman”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁-m̥h₁n-eh₂ (“(the one) nursing, breastfeeding”). Related to fetus, feminism, filial, fellatio.

Synonyms

femalewomanlycaringladylikenurturingbeautyfemmegirlishgirlyladyishwomanishOf a mancampeffeminateepicenefruityswish

Antonyms

malemanlybutchmasculinemasculineneuter

This word in other languages

femenino(Español)féminin(Français)feminin(Deutsch)feminino(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • efminine
  • feimnine
  • femiinne
  • feminien
  • femininne
  • feminnie
  • feminnine
  • femminine
  • femniine
  • ffeminine
  • fmeinine

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of feminine - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

efminine2feimnine2femiinne2feminien2femininne1feminnie2feminnine1femminine1
Edit distance from "feminine"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "feminine"?
"feminine" is spelled F-E-M-I-N-I-N-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈfɛmɪnɪn/.
What does "feminine" mean?
As an adjective, "feminine" means: Of or pertaining to the female gender.
What words are commonly confused with "feminine"?
"feminine" is commonly confused with "feminist", "feminism". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "feminine"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "feminine" is /ˈfɛmɪnɪn/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "feminine"?
From Middle English feminine, femynyne, femynyn, from Old French feminin, feminine, from Latin fēminīnus, from fēmina (“woman”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁-m̥h₁n-eh₂ (“(the one) nursing, breastfeeding”). Related to fetus, feminism, filial, fe... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "feminine", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

exterior#8,143fountain#8,146genocide#8,149damaging#8,136

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

drafted11 variantsHungary11 variantsoptional11 variantsWinston11 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list