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Fair sex   /fɛr sɛks/   Listen
adjective
Fair  adj.  (compar. fairer; superl. fairest)  
1.
Free from spots, specks, dirt, or imperfection; unblemished; clean; pure. "A fair white linen cloth."
2.
Pleasing to the eye; handsome; beautiful. "Who can not see many a fair French city, for one fair French made."
3.
Without a dark hue; light; clear; as, a fair skin. "The northern people large and fair-complexioned."
4.
Not overcast; cloudless; clear; pleasant; propitious; favorable; said of the sky, weather, or wind, etc.; as, a fair sky; a fair day. "You wish fair winds may waft him over."
5.
Free from obstacles or hindrances; unobstructed; unincumbered; open; direct; said of a road, passage, etc.; as, a fair mark; in fair sight; a fair view. "The caliphs obtained a mighty empire, which was in a fair way to have enlarged."
6.
(Shipbuilding) Without sudden change of direction or curvature; smooth; flowing; said of the figure of a vessel, and of surfaces, water lines, and other lines.
7.
Characterized by frankness, honesty, impartiality, or candor; open; upright; free from suspicion or bias; equitable; just; said of persons, character, or conduct; as, a fair man; fair dealing; a fair statement. "I would call it fair play."
8.
Pleasing; favorable; inspiring hope and confidence; said of words, promises, etc. "When fair words and good counsel will not prevail on us, we must be frighted into our duty."
9.
Distinct; legible; as, fair handwriting.
10.
Free from any marked characteristic; average; middling; as, a fair specimen. "The news is very fair and good, my lord."
Fair ball. (Baseball)
(a)
A ball passing over the home base at the height called for by the batsman, and delivered by the pitcher while wholly within the lines of his position and facing the batsman.
(b)
A batted ball that falls inside the foul lines; called also a fair hit.
Fair maid. (Zool.)
(a)
The European pilchard (Clupea pilchardus) when dried.
(b)
The southern scup (Stenotomus Gardeni). (Virginia)
Fair one, a handsome woman; a beauty,
Fair play, equitable or impartial treatment; a fair or equal chance; justice.
From fair to middling, passable; tolerable. (Colloq.)
The fair sex, the female sex.
Synonyms: Candid; open; frank; ingenuous; clear; honest; equitable; impartial; reasonable. See Candid.






Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48








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"Fair sex" Quotes from Famous Books



... is painted to us as having been in Paradise; and with similar inequality have the sexes subsisted in all ages and nations since. If it were possible to take from the fair sex its softness and attractive grace, and endow it instead with audacious, masculine and military qualities, there is scarcely any one that does not perceive, with whatever advantages it might be attended in other respects, that it ...
— Thoughts on Man - His Nature, Productions and Discoveries, Interspersed with - Some Particulars Respecting the Author • William Godwin

... heard of the fate of Don Juan, the famous libertine of Seville, who for his sins against the fair sex and other minor peccadilloes was hurried away to the infernal regions. His story has been illustrated in play, in pantomime, and farce, on every stage in Christendom; until at length it has been rendered the theme ...
— The Crayon Papers • Washington Irving

... "his calling our dramatic writers to this strict account had a very wholesome effect upon those who wrote after this time. They were now a great deal more upon their guard ... and, by degrees, the fair sex came again to fill the boxes on the first day of a new comedy, without fear of censure." For some time, it seems, the ladies had been afraid of venturing "bare-faced" to a new comedy, till they had been assured that they could do it without risk ...
— A Book of the Play - Studies and Illustrations of Histrionic Story, Life, and Character • Dutton Cook

... penalties of war," replied the general, "that we are doomed to see little of the fair sex, and must be content with an occasional sip of their society. Should we winter near here, as now seems possible, I trust you will honour Mrs. Washington and myself with your company at headquarters. And one word ere we part, Mrs. Meredith. You must not think that we make free with ...
— Janice Meredith • Paul Leicester Ford

... family, made a point of never interfering with her husband's whims or prejudices; and it is a compromise which we would heartily recommend to all managing matrons of our acquaintance; for it is surprising how much real power will be cheerfully resigned to the fair sex, for the pleasure of being allowed to ride one's hobby ...
— Peveril of the Peak • Sir Walter Scott


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