1
as in boyhood
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2
as in maidenhood
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Recent Examples of girlhood
Cancer, kismet and the comfort of girlhood Taylor and Finkel know not all cancer patients have a best friend who lives close enough to go to appointments with them, let alone the time to do so.
—
Madeline Mitchell, USA Today, 13 Feb. 2026
The response felt like a celebration of girlhood.
—Ashlyn Robinette, PEOPLE, 29 Jan. 2026
This year’s nostalgia for Jane Austen interiors (which has also dovetailed with the return of the canopy bed and is not unrelated to the resurgence of perpetual girlhood) has put candlelit lighting back on the map, and retailers are meeting the moment with modern iterations of the antique.
—Julia Harrison, Architectural Digest, 17 Dec. 2025
An explicit act of transcending her girlhood, and welcoming new parts of herself.
—Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 14 Dec. 2025
Childlore, a staple of boy- and girlhood for centuries, has become tenuous and fragile.
—Ian Bogost, The Atlantic, 12 Dec. 2025
Now, her latest hairstyle marks the inevitable moment in Black girlhood where Blue Ivy is starting to come into her own.
—Essence, 11 Dec. 2025
In an English girls boarding school, two teenage best friends grapple with the challenges of girlhood — friendship, boys, studies, and growing up — and embark on their school project, falling in love.
—Peter Debruge, Variety, 10 Dec. 2025
Next came Unity—conceived, portentously, in the small Canadian town of Swastika—who, outdoing her sister, developed a girlhood crush on Hitler and moved to Germany to serve the Nazis.
—Rachel Syme, New Yorker, 1 Dec. 2025
Madeline Mitchell, USA Today, 13 Feb. 2026
The response felt like a celebration of girlhood.
—Ashlyn Robinette, PEOPLE, 29 Jan. 2026
This year’s nostalgia for Jane Austen interiors (which has also dovetailed with the return of the canopy bed and is not unrelated to the resurgence of perpetual girlhood) has put candlelit lighting back on the map, and retailers are meeting the moment with modern iterations of the antique.
—Julia Harrison, Architectural Digest, 17 Dec. 2025
An explicit act of transcending her girlhood, and welcoming new parts of herself.
—Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 14 Dec. 2025
Childlore, a staple of boy- and girlhood for centuries, has become tenuous and fragile.
—Ian Bogost, The Atlantic, 12 Dec. 2025
Now, her latest hairstyle marks the inevitable moment in Black girlhood where Blue Ivy is starting to come into her own.
—Essence, 11 Dec. 2025
In an English girls boarding school, two teenage best friends grapple with the challenges of girlhood — friendship, boys, studies, and growing up — and embark on their school project, falling in love.
—Peter Debruge, Variety, 10 Dec. 2025
Next came Unity—conceived, portentously, in the small Canadian town of Swastika—who, outdoing her sister, developed a girlhood crush on Hitler and moved to Germany to serve the Nazis.
—Rachel Syme, New Yorker, 1 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for girlhood
Noun
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After a hasty exit from his boyhood club in August, Ramsey has taken a long time to introduce himself in any meaningful way at Newcastle.—
Anantaajith Raghuraman,
New York Times,
13 Feb. 2026
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Jake LaRavia was destined to play for the LA Lakers, the team of his father's youth, closing a family loop of boyhood dreams and untimely death, Gregg Doyel writes.—
Joe Mutascio,
IndyStar,
10 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Even so, the belief in Mary’s life-long maidenhood is widely shared by members of the Eastern Orthodox Church and by some Lutherans.—
Rebecca Coffey,
Forbes,
3 Mar. 2021
Noun
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Democratic candidates emphasized relatability and personal hardship in their pitches, with contenders sharing narratives of childhood poverty, domestic violence, and economic struggle to connect with voters and establish themselves as understanding everyday Californians’ challenges.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
22 Feb. 2026
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Carlino and Martin had a lot of artwork from Anderson’s kids, while Chase Infiniti provided childhood photos for Carlino to decorate the house.—
Jazz Tangcay,
Variety,
22 Feb. 2026
Noun
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That happens throughout embryo development and childhood, and typically reaches a steady balance at some point during adolescence.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
20 Feb. 2026
-
Tillmans’ interest in stargazing goes back to his adolescence, and images of the moon and cosmos recur in his work.—
Steve Appleford,
Los Angeles Times,
17 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Girlhood.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/girlhood. Accessed 26 Feb. 2026.
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