Meaning & use
princess
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Meanings
nouncountable
A daughter of a king, queen, prince, or princess, or a woman who holds this rank by birth.
Grammar: Used as a title with a name: Princess Anne.
Patterns
- Princess something
- the princess of something
The princess waved to the crowd from the balcony.
Princess Mary opened the new hospital wing.
As a child, the princess studied several languages.
nouncountable
The wife of a prince.
Grammar: Refers to marriage, not birth: she became a princess when she married.
Patterns
- become a princess
She became a princess when she married the prince.
The princess and her husband toured three countries.
nouncountableinformaldisapproving
A girl or woman who is spoiled or expects to be treated specially.
Grammar: Informal and sometimes teasing: don't act like a princess.
Patterns
- act like a princess
She acts like a princess and expects everyone to carry her bags.
My little sister is a real princess about food.
Word forms
| plural | princesses |
|---|
Common combinations
- crown princess
- The crown princess will become queen one day.
- fairy-tale princess
- The costume turned her into a fairy-tale princess.
- princess dress
- She wore a pink princess dress to the party.
- royal princess
- The royal princess visited the school.
- princess and the pea
- We read the story of the princess and the pea.
Synonyms and how they differ
- royal
- Royal is a general noun for any member of a royal family, not only a female child.
- queen
- A queen rules or marries a king, whereas a princess holds a lower rank.
- noblewoman
- A noblewoman belongs to the aristocracy but is not necessarily royal.
Opposites
Word family
- prince noun
- the male equivalent
- princely adjective
- of or fit for a prince; generous
- princedom noun
- the territory or rank of a prince
- principality noun
- a land ruled by a prince
Commonly confused: princess or principal?
princess vs principal
Principal means main or the head of a school, and has a different spelling and sense from prince.
Practice
Which sentence uses princess in its everyday teasing sense?
Choose one answer.
Acting like a princess means expecting special treatment. The other sentences use the royal title.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “princess”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.