Synonyms

girlish

American

[gur-lish] / ˈgɜr lɪʃ /

adjective

of, like, or befitting a girl or girlhood.

girlish laughter.

girlish British

/ ˈɡɜːlɪʃ /

adjective

of or like a girl in looks, behaviour, innocence, etc

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

girlishly adverb
girlishness noun
ungirlish adjective
ungirlishly adverb
ungirlishness noun

Etymology

Origin of girlish

First recorded in 1555–65; girl + -ish ¹

Vocabulary lists containing girlish

Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Suffixes: -ish

Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!

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.

"I had girlish manners, a girlish voice," he would later say.

From BBC • Apr. 4, 2026

Isolde is a mercurial character, and Ms. Davidsen expressed her simmering rage, her girlish flirtatiousness, and her serenity in the “Liebestod.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 11, 2026

Wittingly or not, Gaines seems to understand that her ability to play the “victim” of these supposedly demonic trans forces depends on presenting herself as girlish.

From Salon • Oct. 27, 2025

She could be sweet, evil, overbearing, put-upon, thoughtful, impulsive, girlish, vulnerable or manipulative and superimpose selected qualities for extra complexity, always with a compressed energy, obvious or veiled.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 30, 2024

“I’d be glad to see anything Miss Hepzibah shows me,” said Voldemort quietly, and Hepzibah gave another girlish giggle.

From "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" by J.K. Rowling

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023