as in wives
a married woman in charge of a household
She was career-minded and never intended to be a 1950s style housewife.
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Recent Examples of housewives
In recent years, housewives have been introduced as highly polished.
—
Shelby Stewart, Essence, 12 May 2026
Nene Leakes is one of the housewives confirmed to appear during the Atlanta stop of the special event series.
—Armando Tinoco, Deadline, 11 May 2026
And nor are any of the spooky figures, which range from 1950s housewives to toothless hags.
—The Week, TheWeek, 7 May 2026
Fallen Angels' Rose Byrne and Kelli O’Hara are heaven-sent in this divine and delirious revival of Noël Coward’s sneakily groundbreaking 1925 play, about a pair of high-society housewives who hatch a plot to hook up with their former lover (Mark Consuelos).
—Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 3 May 2026
Minkoff previously had a health scare involving her high blood pressure during a housewives' trip to Barcelona, Spain.
—Vanessa Etienne, PEOPLE, 27 Apr. 2026
Wondering how the Ocean State's housewives celebrated Easter weekend?
—Catherine Messier, The Providence Journal, 6 Apr. 2026
At one point housewives were admonished not to shake their dust mops outdoors lest that contribute to smog.
—Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 26 Mar. 2026
On Bravo, Vanderpump Rules doubled down on filming when Scandoval dropped, but that doesn’t seem to be the case for these Utah housewives.
—Alejandra Gularte, Vulture, 26 Mar. 2026
Shelby Stewart, Essence, 12 May 2026
Nene Leakes is one of the housewives confirmed to appear during the Atlanta stop of the special event series.
—Armando Tinoco, Deadline, 11 May 2026
And nor are any of the spooky figures, which range from 1950s housewives to toothless hags.
—The Week, TheWeek, 7 May 2026
Fallen Angels' Rose Byrne and Kelli O’Hara are heaven-sent in this divine and delirious revival of Noël Coward’s sneakily groundbreaking 1925 play, about a pair of high-society housewives who hatch a plot to hook up with their former lover (Mark Consuelos).
—Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 3 May 2026
Minkoff previously had a health scare involving her high blood pressure during a housewives' trip to Barcelona, Spain.
—Vanessa Etienne, PEOPLE, 27 Apr. 2026
Wondering how the Ocean State's housewives celebrated Easter weekend?
—Catherine Messier, The Providence Journal, 6 Apr. 2026
At one point housewives were admonished not to shake their dust mops outdoors lest that contribute to smog.
—Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 26 Mar. 2026
On Bravo, Vanderpump Rules doubled down on filming when Scandoval dropped, but that doesn’t seem to be the case for these Utah housewives.
—Alejandra Gularte, Vulture, 26 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for housewives
Noun
-
For two couples, the wives and husbands died about a year apart.—
Jann E. Freed,
Forbes.com,
20 May 2026
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The crimes of the executed have included the slayings of wives and children, store clerks and strangers.—
Erik Ortiz,
NBC news,
20 May 2026
Noun
-
Like the book and its film, Beaches traces a friendship between Cee Cee Bloom (Vosk) and Bertie White (Barrett) — two women who move from childhood pen pals to roommates, rivals and lifelong confidantes before their soaring story ends in devastating loss.—
Dave Quinn,
PEOPLE,
20 May 2026
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Roughly a mile away as the crow flies is the site of what once was known as Mills College, which was a private, four-year liberal-arts college for women.—
Jay Caspian Kang,
New Yorker,
19 May 2026
Noun
-
Tax breaks to reward male breadwinners and female homemakers.—
Helen Lewis,
The Atlantic,
14 May 2026
-
Around him sat ten women—all of them homemakers and nurses—and one seven-year-old girl.—
Joshua Sharpe
August 6,
Literary Hub,
6 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Housewives.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/housewives. Accessed 23 May. 2026.
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