girly

English

Etymology

girl +‎ -y

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈɡɝli/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈɡɜːli/

  • Audio (Southern England)

    (file)

• Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)li

Adjective

girly (comparative girlier, superlative girliest)

1. Characteristic of a stereotypical girl, very effeminate, gentle; unmasculine.
2. (slang, idiomatic) Of, or pertaining to, a young, attractive woman; especially one who is scantily clad.

   a girly calendar

3. (slang) Weak; wussy.
   • 2013, L. A. Campbell, Cartboy and the Time Capsule, page 112:

     There was enough food for a soccer team and we were going to grill it. Our meatfest included no girly utensils, no wussy plates. Just our hands, mouths, and incisors.

Synonyms

• (applied to a girl or woman): feminine, girlish, puellile, puelline, womanly
• (applied to a boy or man): effeminate, unmanly

Antonyms

• (applied to a girl or woman): butch, hoyden, hoydenish, mannish, masculine, tomboyish, unwomanly
• (applied to a boy or man): butch, manly, masculine

Derived terms

• girly bits
• girly girl
• girly mag
• girly magazine
• girly man
• girlyman

 

Translations

characteristic of a stereotypical girl

• Esperanto: ina (eo)
• Finnish: tyttömäinen (fi)
• French: féminin (fr)
• Greek: κοριτσίστικος (el) (koritsístikos)
• Japanese: 女の子っぽい (onnanokoppoi)
• Latvian: meitenīgs
• Polish: babski (pl)
• Russian: девча́чий (ru) (devčáčij)
• Slovak: dievčenský
• Swedish: tjejig (sv)

Noun

girly (plural girlies)

1. (childish) Girl.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:girl