Meaning & use
girlie or girly
Last updated
Meanings
adjectivecomparableinformal
Behaving or appearing in a way that is traditionally considered typical of girls, often in a playful or exaggerated way.
Grammar: Used before a noun or after a linking verb: a girly dress; she's very girly.
Patterns
- girly clothes
- girly girl
- too girly
She loves girly things like pink dresses and dolls.
He thought the room was too girly, with its floral wallpaper.
They had a girly night in, watching romantic comedies.
nouncountableinformaldisapproving
An informal, sometimes disapproving word for a girl or young woman.
Grammar: Countable noun; often used in the plural 'girlies' to address a group of women informally.
Patterns
- a girlie
- the girlies
He called her a silly girlie, which she didn't appreciate.
The girlies are all meeting for brunch on Sunday.
Some men still refer to female colleagues as girlies, which is inappropriate at work.
Word forms
| comparative | girlier |
|---|---|
| superlative | girliest |
| plural | girlies |
Common combinations
- girly girl
- She's a real girly girl who loves makeup and fashion.
- girly drink
- He ordered a girly drink with fruit and a little umbrella.
- girly color
- The walls were painted a girly shade of pink.
- girly stuff
- I'm not into girly stuff like shopping for shoes.
- girly night
- We're having a girly night with face masks and movies.
Synonyms and how they differ
- feminine
- More neutral and often positive; describes qualities traditionally associated with women without the informal or teasing tone of 'girly'.
- girlish
- More literary and often describes a young girl's appearance or behavior; less common in everyday speech than 'girly'.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: girlie or girly or girly?
girlie or girly vs girly
This is just a variant spelling of 'girlie' when used as an adjective. 'Girly' is the more standard and neutral spelling, while 'girlie' is more informal and often disapproving, especially as a noun.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'girlie' or 'girly' correctly and naturally?
Choose one answer.
Option 0 uses 'girlie' as an adjective before 'dress', which is a common and natural use. Option 1 is odd because 'girlie' is not typically used for men's attitudes toward cars. Option 2 uses 'girlie' as a noun, which is possible but informal and often disapproving, and not natural in this neutral context. Option 3 invents a verb 'to girlie', which does not exist.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “girlie or girly”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.