female
- feminine
‘female’
Female means ‘relating to the sex that can have babies’. You can use female as an adjective to talk about either people or animals.
There has been a rise in the number of female employees.
A female toad may lay 20,000 eggs each season.
You can also use female as a noun to talk about animals.
The male fertilizes the female's eggs.
He saw a family of lions – a big male, a beautiful female, and two cubs.
In scientific contexts, female is sometimes used as a noun to refer to women or girls.
The condition affects both males and females.
People sometimes use female to talk about young women, in order to avoid using ‘woman’ or ‘girl’.
He asked if a white female of a certain age had checked into the hotel.
‘feminine’
Feminine means ‘typical of women, rather than men’.
The bedroom has a light, feminine look.
She is a calm, reasonable and deeply feminine woman.
Don't use ‘feminine’ to talk about animals.