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Meaning & use

belle

noun·Advancedold-fashionedliterary

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UK/bel/
US/bɛl/

Meaning

  1. nouncountableold-fashionedliterary

    A woman admired as the most beautiful or charming in a group.

    Grammar: Often in the phrase belle of the ball.

    Patterns

    • the belle of the ball
    • a southern belle

    She arrived at the dance and was the belle of the ball.

    The novel features a young belle from Georgia.

    In her youth she was considered the belle of the village.

Word forms

pluralbelles

Common combinations

belle of the ball
Everyone said Clara was the belle of the ball.
Southern belle
She played a Southern belle in the school play.
village belle
The village belle turned many heads.
reigning belle
The reigning belle of the season was a young duchess.

Synonyms and how they differ

beauty
Beauty is the plain, current word, while belle suggests a social setting and an old-fashioned tone.
stunner
Stunner is informal and describes appearance only.
star
Star stresses fame or attention more than looks.

Word family

beau noun
a woman's male admirer, an old term
beauty noun
the quality of being lovely
beautiful adjective
very attractive
belle epoque noun
the fashionable period before World War I in France

Commonly confused: belle or bell?

belle vs bell

A bell rings; belle is the French-derived word for a beautiful woman, though the two are pronounced the same.

Practice

At the ball, she was considered the ___ of the evening.

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