Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of matronly
Pinkham’s matronly smile, printed on labels and advertisements, became as well known as Mona Lisa’s.
—
Shayla Love, The Atlantic, 30 Jan. 2025
Every few days, a matronly Spanish woman appeared at the fountain to give me a plastic bag with bananas and bread, and sometimes little packets of butter and jam.
—Jon Lee Anderson, The New Yorker, 8 Jan. 2024
Transforming the elegant British, non-Jewish actress into the matronly prime minister required prosthetics for the cheeks, chin, nose and neck, plus contact lenses and a wig.
—Valli Herman, Los Angeles Times, 1 Jan. 2024
Mary’s childhood has all of the workhouse tragedy of a Dickens novel, plus insufficient scenes of Susan Lynch as a stern, matronly figure from her youth.
—Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019
See All Example Sentences for matronly
Shayla Love, The Atlantic, 30 Jan. 2025
Every few days, a matronly Spanish woman appeared at the fountain to give me a plastic bag with bananas and bread, and sometimes little packets of butter and jam.
—Jon Lee Anderson, The New Yorker, 8 Jan. 2024
Transforming the elegant British, non-Jewish actress into the matronly prime minister required prosthetics for the cheeks, chin, nose and neck, plus contact lenses and a wig.
—Valli Herman, Los Angeles Times, 1 Jan. 2024
Mary’s childhood has all of the workhouse tragedy of a Dickens novel, plus insufficient scenes of Susan Lynch as a stern, matronly figure from her youth.
—Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019
See All Example Sentences for matronly
Recent Examples of Synonyms for matronly
Adjective
-
On the left: a photograph of a blurred womanly figure, her white dress smeared into an avian or angelic wingspan, her head eerily effaced, allowing the forest behind her to show sharply through.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
1 Dec. 2025
-
Tarun would tease her, and my mother would look sorrowfully toward Kavitha, as if the two of them now shared some womanly burden.—
Madhuri Vijay,
New Yorker,
16 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
Not into destruction, but into creation and feminine force.—
JD Linville,
Variety,
19 May 2026
-
It's meant to be wholly feminine and romantic, reminiscent of bygone times.—
Kaitlyn Yarborough,
Southern Living,
15 May 2026
Adjective
-
Carroll, Miss Cheerleader USA as a teen, became a journalist, author and the first female editor at Esquire, Playboy and Outside magazine.—
Jill Goldsmith,
Deadline,
22 May 2026
-
Aside from her affinity for floral chintz and maximal pairings, Sister Parish, born Dorothy May Kinnicutt in 1910 and nicknamed Sister by her brothers, was also known as a female trailblazer at a time when women couldn’t even open a bank account without their husband’s signature.—
Sofia Celeste,
Footwear News,
22 May 2026
Adjective
-
Despite that underlying tension, kids play on the street outside while the large family has a dynamic like any other — noisily squabbling, joking, or in the case of the matriarchal grandmother, Mariam (Hiam Abbass), preparing a meal in a kitchen plagued by constant utility outages.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
15 May 2026
-
In the supporting role of the matriarchal cookhouse keeper Maria was Denyce Graves, the legendary mezzo-soprano opera star.—
Charlotte Observer,
Charlotte Observer,
13 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Matronly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/matronly. Accessed 23 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
