ladylike

comparative more ladylike · superlative most ladylike · alternative lady-like · alternative ladilike

1. Of or related to the appearance or behaviour of a well-mannered woman.

   Pirates, these women, with their ladylike briefcases for the loot and their horsy, acquisitive teeth.

   1985, Margaret Atwood, “Soul Scrolls”, in The Handmaid’s Tale, Toronto, Ont.: McClelland and Stewart, →ISBN, page 165

   2 more examples

   Coniux imperioſa. Ouidius. A ladylike wife that will be obeyed. […] Dura domina, imperioſa. Cic. A rigorous and ladilike dame that will be obeyed.

   1565, Thomas Cooper, Thesaurus Linguæ Romanæ & Britannicæ, […], London

   Is it ladylike to giggle? / Is it ladylike to wink? / Is it ladylike to ride a horse astraddle? / Is it ladylike to wiggle? / Is it ladylike to drink? / Is it ladylike upon the beach to paddle? […]

   1906 November 29, W. D. Nesbit, “The Querist”, in Life, volume 48, number 1257, page 673

   Synonyms: ladily

comparative more ladylike · superlative most ladylike · alternative lady-like · alternative ladilike

1. In the manner of a lady.

   Mirrin had lifted her second cup of tea, holding it, ladylike, with finger and thumb of her right hand while her left palm supported the saucer.

   1976, Jessica Stirling [pseudonym; Hugh Crauford Rae], The Hiring Fair, Coronet Books, published 1998, →ISBN, page 271

   2 more examples

   Men prefer feminine women, and there’s nothing feminine about hippos. They can’t walk ladylike, they can’t sit ladylike, and God forbid they should have to run!

   1980 April 21, Been There [pseudonym], “Dear Abby: Americans Want More Than Orientals Express”, in The Daily News Journal, 132nd year, number 44, Murfreesboro, Tenn., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 11, column 5

   So they sent me to an aunt who’d married off the water and kept a shop in Islington. She was kind enough, in her way. Taught me to speak ladylike . . . well, ladylike enough to pass in the shop.

   1998, Patricia Grey, chapter 22, in Cutter’s Wharf, large print edition, Anstey, Leicestershire: Charnwood, F. A. Thorpe (Publishing), published 2001, →ISBN, page 238

   Synonyms: ladily, ladylikely