Meaning & use
domesticated woman
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Meanings
nouncountabledisapproving
a woman whose life is seen as limited to housework, childcare, and family duties, rather than work or independence.
Grammar: Countable, so you can say 'a domesticated woman' or 'domesticated women'. It is usually critical.
Patterns
- a domesticated woman
- domesticated women
- become a domesticated woman
- be seen as a domesticated woman
The novel's heroine refuses to become a domesticated woman like her mother.
He wanted a domesticated woman who would stay at home, and she found that insulting.
Older films often showed domesticated women as happy with no other ambitions.
nouncountable
a woman who has been taught or has chosen to focus mainly on home life, often after giving up outside work.
Grammar: This sense is more neutral but still often suggests a loss of freedom or ambition.
Patterns
- a domesticated woman
- feel like a domesticated woman
After years abroad, she felt like a domesticated woman again when she moved back home.
Some women happily describe themselves as domesticated, while others reject the label.
Word forms
| plural | domesticated women |
|---|
Common combinations
- become a domesticated woman
- She did not want to become a domesticated woman at twenty-two.
- a happily domesticated woman
- The magazine portrayed her as a happily domesticated woman.
- the image of the domesticated woman
- The image of the domesticated woman changed in the twentieth century.
- reject the role of a domesticated woman
- Many young women rejected the role of a domesticated woman.
Synonyms and how they differ
- housewife
- A neutral everyday word for a woman who manages a home; it does not carry the critical idea of being 'tamed'.
- homemaker
- A neutral, approving term for someone whose main work is caring for a home and family.
- stay-at-home mother
- Describes a mother who does not work outside the home, focusing on childcare rather than the idea of being domesticated.
Opposites
Word family
- domesticate verb
- to tame an animal or, historically, to make someone used to home life.
- domestication noun
- the process of taming animals or making something home-centered.
- domestic adjective
- relating to the home or family.
- domesticity noun
- home life and the activities connected with it.
Commonly confused: domesticated woman or domestic woman?
domesticated woman vs domestic woman
Means a woman who likes home life; it is less critical and does not imply being tamed or controlled.
Practice
The phrase 'a domesticated woman' is usually used in a ______ way.
Choose one answer.
'Domesticated' suggests someone has been tamed or limited, so the phrase is normally disapproving. It is not mainly a technical term, and it is rarely meant as a joke.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “domesticated woman”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.