Phrase guide

fair sex

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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  • Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

Women collectively.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: dated, idiomatic, offensive, sometimes

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: gentle sex

Antonyms: stern sex

2

noun

Meaning 2

women as a class

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • it's an insult to American womanhood
  • woman is the glory of creation
  • the fair sex gathered on the veranda

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: womanhood, woman

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: class, stratum, social class, socio-economic class

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

47 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Armenian: գեղեցիկ սեռ (geġecʻik seṙ) — women
  • Bashkir: гүзәл зат (güzəl zat) — women
  • Bulgarian: жените (ženite) — women
  • Chinese Mandarin: 女性 (nǚxìng) — women
  • Chinese Mandarin: 婦道人家 /妇道人家 (fùdao rénjia) — women
  • Czech: slabé pohlaví — women
  • Czech: něžné pohlaví — women
  • Czech: ženy — women
  • Danish: det smukke køn — women
  • Dutch: het schone geslacht — women
  • Dutch: het zwakke geslacht — women
  • Finnish: kauniimpi sukupuoli — women
  • French: beau sexe — women
  • French: gent féminine — women
  • French: sexe faible — women
  • German: schönes Geschlecht — women
  • German: schwaches Geschlecht — women
  • Greek: ασθενές φύλο (asthenés fýlo) — women
  • Greek: αδύνατο φύλο (adýnato fýlo) — women
  • Greek: ωραίο φύλο (oraío fýlo) — women
  • Greek: αδύναμο φύλο (adýnamo fýlo) — women
  • Hungarian: gyengébb nem — women
  • Irish: an cineál baineann — women
  • Irish: an cineál banda — women
  • Italian: gentil sesso — women
  • Italian: sesso debole — women
  • Japanese: フェアセックス (fea sekkusu) — women
  • Kannada: ಮಹಿಳಾವರ್ಗ (mahiḷāvarga) — women
  • Kannada: ಸ್ತ್ರೀಜಾತಿ (strījāti) — women
  • Korean: 여성 (yeoseong) — women
  • Macedonian: нежен пол (nežen pol) — women
  • Norwegian Bokmål: det smukke kjønn — women
  • Polish: płeć piękna — women
  • Polish: słaba płeć — women
  • Portuguese: sexo frágil — women
  • Romanian: sexul frumos — women
  • Russian: прекра́сный пол (prekrásnyj pol) — women
  • Russian: сла́бый пол (slábyj pol) — women
  • Russian: не́жный пол (néžnyj pol) — women
  • Spanish: sexo débil — women
  • Spanish: bello sexo — women
  • Swedish: det täcka könet — women
  • Swedish: det svaga könet — women
  • Tamil: பெண்டிர் (peṇṭir) — women
  • Tamil: பெண்கள் (peṇkaḷ) — women
  • Tamil: மாதர் (mātar) — women
  • Tamil: மகளிர் (makaḷir) — women