Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A young woman making a formal debut into society.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. A woman appearing for the first time before the public or in society; specifically, an actress or a singer making her first appearance in public, or a young woman during her first season in society.
Wiktionary
- n. a young woman who makes her first formal appearance in society
GNU Webster's 1913
- A young woman making her first appearance in society, especially one who is one of the honorees at a debutante cotillion. See cotillion{4}.
WordNet 3.0
- n. a young woman making her debut into society
Etymologies
- French débutante, feminine present participle of débuter, to begin; see debut. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“Just as in the United States a coming out party for a debutante is in no way necessary, unless the family belongs to the social stratum which believes that it is.”
“Restrained in the way a debutante is not, the way a bride pretends she understands.”
“A British diplomat was more cynical; Wilson, he said, was drawn to Paris "as a debutante is entranced by the prospect of her first ball.”
“That posture is what was called the debutante slouch.”
“According to Georgina, a woman like Lady Dunstan could make or break a debutante without even trying.”
“The launching of a debutante was a major undertaking.”
“Nor need we make any allowance for the fact that the debutante was his sister, and the scene of her coming-out his own mother's house.”
“Quite often though, a debutante was a young woman, 16 (sweet) to 21 (maid) ready to look for a husband.”
“Or if they had more social status, they were a 'debutante' or 'a nurse.”
“By 1992, Case got a contract from "A Current Affair" to sell a highly dubious letter purporting to be an apology from Clinton to a "debutante" for getting rough with her the night before.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘debutante’.
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GRE Barrons Wordlist
A complete Barron's Wordlist for GRE preparation. Your online flashcard replacement.
abase, abash, abate, abbreviate, abdicate, aberrant, aberration, abet, abeyance, abhor, abject, abjure and 4087 more...
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Words build meanings from origins( et...
These come from gamma meditation ,I think.
discursive, exogenous, machinations, purportedly, sumptuous, congruity, cantankerous, incongruous, festoon, hessian, ratiocinative, stratigraphic and 2046 more...
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She did what?
For a more inclusive list, see sionnach's tom, dick and harry.
Also see the list Bad Sentences by abigail.katydid, Hollywood, june bug, June bug, Maryland, Marywood, Marymount, joy ride, joystick, barbet, barbwire, pennywhistle and 62 more...
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Go over
mollify, obstinate, obviate, occlude, onerous, obscure, paragon, pedantic, perfunctory, placate, placid, prodigal and 364 more...
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English with Tongue
French words and phrases used by English speakers.
objet d'art, nom de plume, petite, bon voyage, avant-garde, faux pas, faux, touché, répondez, s'il vo..., rouge, papier mâché, joie de vivre and 85 more...
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the first list
an immense, grandiloquent list that loads like a thousand years sentence in stone. new words are in the other lists.
ridiculous, brummagem, predicament, sanctimonious, vapid, eschew, admonish, auspicious, capitulation, enumerate, lachrymose, tenet and 1648 more...
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diioxyde's Words
macabre, egypt, egyptology, queen, love, sex, sister, lover, web, cobweb, line, circle and 223 more...
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inkhorn's Words
inkhorn, aplomb, apotheosis, asinine, avatar, bombastic, boorish, bromide, bucolic, cagey, canvass, digress and 991 more...
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colleen's words
yellow, green, pie, blue, fur, people, incense, book, brown, avuncular, mountain, fog and 1316 more...
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kingofbash's Words
bash, poleaxed, salacious, libertine, charlatan, aplomb, fortuitous, finagle, apoplectic, debutante, carte blanche, aardvark and 472 more...
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GRE list #2
FOM - cards - 1/2
abjure, abscond, abstemious, accretion, acidulous, acme, adulterate, aerie, affected, aggrandize, alacrity, mitigate and 221 more...
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ADW1
obdurate, obstinate, behest, injunction, enjoin, circumspect, ensconce, discursive, lugubrious, doleful, somber, ken and 2476 more...
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Vocab++
Words as I learn them.
fetid, mezzanine, hiatus, austerity, subliminal, resplendent, implacable, impugn, debase, exiguous, cirque, holster and 2538 more...
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snickclunk's Words
bespoke, freshet, coquette, lath, victrola, feckless, viridian, lariat, sargasso, sobriquet, grift, sophistry and 134 more...
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stpeter's Words
abase, abasement, abashed, abdicate, aberrant, abeyance, abhor, abhorrent, abide, abject, ablation, abnegation and 3536 more...
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Some Words I Love to Use
arcology, strumpet, crux, confected, pedant, bluestocking, cogitation, incensed, lovecraftian, cygnet, dactyl, adytum and 539 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for debutante.
dontcry *snort* Mar 20, 2011
fbharjo deb's French aunt Mar 20, 2011
treeseed See deb Feb 5, 2008