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spinster

[spin-ster] / ˈspɪn stər /
NOUN
(offensive) unmarried woman
Synonyms


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

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Regarded in her time as "a reclusive spinster that never left her house", she was determined to be free to pursue a life of artistic expression.

From BBC Feb. 7, 2026

“I’m a geriatric pregnant spinster who puts crystals in her bra,” Helen says in an unusual moment of self-awareness.

From The Wall Street Journal Dec. 15, 2025

Ruth Buzzi, famous for her work as handbag-wielding spinster Gladys Ormphby on “Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In,” died Thursday, her family announced Friday.

From Los Angeles Times May 2, 2025

"She's described in the record as a spinster," said Prof English.

From BBC Dec. 25, 2024

No, she amended, Judith would never be a spinster.

From "The Witch of Blackbird Pond" by Elizabeth George Speare

The closest I have found have been eccentric spinsters and ambivalent parents, in a long line from Doris Lessing and DH Lawrence, Barbara Pym and Rachel Cusk.

From The Guardian Jul. 25, 2020

As her New York Times obituary put it, “She specialized in sourness, or, more politely, acerbity, which she used to her comic advantage in roles as housekeepers, spinsters, wicked stepmothers, nuns and back-talking secretaries.”

From Slate Aug. 16, 2019

Between 1934 and 1939, two "nervous British spinsters" were regular visitors to the opera houses of Germany and Austria.

From BBC Jan. 27, 2017

Considered spinsters back East, both Curtis and Stanley married younger men out West.

From Los Angeles Times Sep. 24, 2015

How could we have guessed as we sat there—two middle-aged spinsters and an old man— that in place of memories were about to be given adventures such as we had never dreamed of?

From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom




Vocabulary lists containing spinster


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