unmarried woman
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Noun: A female adult who has never entered into a legally or socially recognized marriage, or who is not currently in such a union.
Usage
The term "unmarried woman" is a neutral, factual description of a person's marital status. It is commonly used in formal, legal, and statistical contexts (e.g., census forms, official documents). In everyday conversation, more specific terms like "single woman" are often preferred, though "unmarried woman" remains perfectly correct.
Examples
Formal/Statistical Context:
- The survey categorized her as an unmarried woman.
- In the 19th century, an unmarried woman had limited property rights.
General Descriptive Context:
- She is a successful unmarried woman in her forties.
- As an unmarried woman, she traveled the world independently.
Advanced Usage
- Historical/Legal Context: The term can carry specific legal implications regarding inheritance, taxation, or guardianship, which have varied historically.
- Under the old law, an unmarried woman was considered a legal dependent of her father.
Variants and Related Words
- Spinster (noun): An older, outdated, and often derogatory term for a woman who has remained unmarried beyond the conventional age. Its use is now generally considered offensive.
- Bachelorette (noun): A modern, informal term for a young unmarried woman, often one who has not been married before. It is frequently used in the context of social life or reality television.
- Single woman (noun phrase): The most common contemporary synonym, emphasizing that she is not in a marital or sometimes any committed romantic relationship.
Synonyms
- Single woman
- Unwed woman (formal/archaic)
Antonyms
- Married woman
- Wife
Noun
- a woman who is not married