My aunt died an old spinster.
Source: tatoeba (718476)
Spinster
/ˈspɪnstə/
Synonyms for "spinster" (30 found)
Ranked by relevance and common usage.
Closest matches (6)
Strong matches (9)
Related words (15)
Choosing the right synonym
- Closest matches in this entry: spinner, bachelor girl, celibate, feme sole, jenny.
- Sentence evidence is available for spinster, so synonym choice can be checked against real usage rather than a flat word list.
- Ranking signals come from wordnet, opengloss, moby, derived_reverse, and related lexical sources.
Synonym selection checklist
- Match the part of speech before comparing meanings.
- Check whether the synonym changes intensity, formality, or emotional tone.
- Read the replacement inside the full sentence, not just beside "spinster".
- Prefer the clearest word over the most unusual word when writing for speed or comprehension.
When not to replace "spinster"
Keep "spinster" when the sentence already sounds natural, when a synonym would add unintended emphasis, or when readers need the most familiar wording. A synonym should clarify or sharpen the message, not simply make the sentence look more varied.
If two options seem close, choose the one that best matches the audience and purpose of the sentence.
Replacement workflow
1. Preserve meaning
Choose a synonym only if it keeps the core idea of "spinster" intact in the sentence you are editing.
2. Tune tone
Check whether the replacement sounds more formal, casual, emotional, technical, or forceful than the original word.
3. Re-read context
Read the full sentence after the swap. Keep the synonym only when the sentence becomes clearer or more precise.
Review note: Synonym lists are ranked with lexical data and reviewed for practical writing value. Use the comparison notes, sentence evidence, and source labels together; a high-ranking synonym can still be wrong when the audience, register, or grammar changes.
Final fit check
After choosing a replacement for "spinster", read the sentence once for meaning and once for rhythm. The best synonym should feel natural in the full sentence, not only accurate in a word list.
If the synonym makes the sentence slower, vaguer, or more dramatic than intended, keep "spinster" or choose a simpler alternative from the closest-match group.
Related word relations
OpenGloss and ConceptNet supply richer edges like generalizations, collocations, and derivations.
More general
5 entriesMore specific
3 entriesold maidthread spinneryarn spinner
Collocations
5 entriesInflections
1 entriesDerivations
3 entriesTranslations
89 translations across 53 languages.
Afrikaans
1 entries- oujongnooi noun (unmarried woman)
Arabic
1 entries- عَانِس noun (unmarried woman)
Bashkir
1 entries- ҡарт ҡыҙ noun (unmarried woman)
Basque
1 entries- neskazahar noun (unmarried woman)
Belarusian
1 entries- стара́я дзе́ва noun (unmarried woman)
Bulgarian
1 entries- ста́ра мо́ма noun (unmarried woman)
Catalan
1 entries- conca noun (unmarried woman)
Chechen
1 entries- ойна noun (unmarried woman)
Chinese Mandarin
2 entries- 剩女 noun (unmarried woman)
- 老處女 /老处女 noun (unmarried woman)
Czech
1 entries- stará panna noun (unmarried woman)
Danish
1 entries- pebermø noun (unmarried woman)
Dutch
2 entries- ongehuwde vrouw noun (unmarried woman)
- oude vrijster noun (unmarried woman)
Estonian
1 entries- vanatüdruk noun (unmarried woman)
Finnish
1 entries- vanhapiika noun (unmarried woman)
French
1 entries- vieille fille noun (unmarried woman)
Galician
2 entries- poula noun (unmarried woman)
- solteirona noun (unmarried woman)
German
4 entries- Junggesellin noun (unmarried woman)
- alte Jungfer noun (unmarried woman)
- unverheiratete Frau noun (unmarried woman)
- älteres Fräulein noun (unmarried woman)
Greek
1 entries- γεροντοκόρη noun (unmarried woman)
Hungarian
3 entries- aggszűz noun (unmarried woman)
- vénkisasszony noun (unmarried woman)
- vénlány noun (unmarried woman)
Ido
1 entries- damzelo noun (unmarried woman)
Ingrian
1 entries- vanhatyttö noun (unmarried woman)
Irish
2 entries- bean shingil noun (unmarried woman)
- puisbhean noun (unmarried woman)
Italian
1 entries- zitella noun (unmarried woman)
Japanese
3 entries- オールドミス noun (unmarried woman)
- ハイミス noun (unmarried woman)
- 売れ残り noun (unmarried woman)
Kazakh
1 entries- кәрі қыз noun (unmarried woman)
Korean
3 entries- 노처녀 noun (unmarried woman)
- 로처녀 noun (unmarried woman)
- 올드 미스 noun (unmarried woman)
Lao
1 entries- ນາງສາວແກ່ noun (unmarried woman)
Lithuanian
1 entries- senmergė noun (unmarried woman)
Lü
1 entries- ᦉᦱᧁᦏᧁᧉ noun (unmarried woman)
Macedonian
1 entries- стара мома noun (unmarried woman)
Manx
1 entries- ben sneeuee noun (unmarried woman)
Māori
4 entries- maro kau noun (unmarried woman)
- marokore noun (unmarried woman)
- takakau noun (unmarried woman)
- wahine kiritapu noun (unmarried woman)
Norwegian Bokmål
3 entries- attergløyme noun (unmarried woman)
- peppermø noun (unmarried woman)
- peppermøy noun (unmarried woman)
Norwegian Nynorsk
2 entries- attergløyme noun (unmarried woman)
- peparmøy noun (unmarried woman)
Polish
1 entries- stara panna noun (unmarried woman)
Portuguese
3 entries- encalhada noun (unmarried woman)
- solteira noun (unmarried woman)
- solteirona noun (unmarried woman)
Romanian
1 entries- fată bătrână noun (unmarried woman)
Russian
2 entries- векову́ха noun (unmarried woman)
- ста́рая де́ва noun (unmarried woman)
Scottish Gaelic
1 entries- seana-mhaighdeann noun (unmarried woman)
Serbo-Croatian
4 entries- babadevojka noun (unmarried woman)
- babadjevojka noun (unmarried woman)
- usìdelica noun (unmarried woman)
- usìdjelica noun (unmarried woman)
Shan
1 entries- သၢဝ်ၵႄႇ noun (unmarried woman)
Sicilian
1 entries- schetta noun (unmarried woman)
Slovak
1 entries- stará panna noun (unmarried woman)
Slovene
1 entries- stara devica noun (unmarried woman)
Sotho
1 entries- lefetwa noun (unmarried woman)
Spanish
2 entries- quedada noun (unmarried woman)
- solterona noun (unmarried woman)
Swedish
2 entries- fröken noun (unmarried woman)
- ungmö noun (unmarried woman)
Tagalog
1 entries- pindangga noun (unmarried woman)
Thai
4 entries- ทึนทึก noun (unmarried woman)
- สาวทึนทึก noun (unmarried woman)
- สาวแก่ noun (unmarried woman)
- เทื้อ noun (unmarried woman)
Turkish
1 entries- kalmış noun (unmarried woman)
Ukrainian
1 entries- стара́ ді́ва noun (unmarried woman)
Vietnamese
1 entries- bà cô già noun (unmarried woman)
Welsh
1 entries- hen ferch noun (unmarried woman)
Sample sentences
8 total sentences available.
She remained a spinster all her life.
Source: tatoeba (2960935)
You may end up being a spinster.
Source: tatoeba (6328009)
Layla is gonna die a spinster.
Source: tatoeba (6376092)
Showing 4 of 8 available sentences.
Common questions
What are the closest synonyms for "spinster"?
Closest matches include spinner, bachelor girl, celibate, feme sole, jenny.
How should I check whether a synonym fits "spinster"?
Compare the replacement against real sentence context. This entry includes sample sentences so you can check tone, grammar, and meaning before swapping words.