Brunette is a noun referring to a woman with brown or dark-brown hair. It can also serve as an adjective describing hair color. In common usage, it implies without implying ethnicity or era. The term carries neutral to slightly informal connotations and is often contrasted with 'blonde' or 'brunet' (masculine form) in fashion and media contexts.
"She wore a glossy brunette wig for the play."
"The model’s brunette hair complemented her warm complexion."
"In the photo, the brunette woman smiled softly at the camera."
"The bookstore staff found a brunette character with a mysterious aura."
Brunette originates from French, where 'brunet' is a diminutive form of 'brun' meaning brown. The feminine form 'brunette' emerged in English via French influence, especially in the 18th- and 19th-century fashion and literary circles. Its meaning centers on hair color rather than ethnicity, with the gendered forms reflecting traditional French noun-adjective agreement (brunet/brunette). Over time, 'brunette' became the standard English term to describe a woman with brown hair, distinct from the masculine 'brunet' and the general descriptor 'brown-haired'. In modern usage, 'brunette' retains a straightforward semantic scope but is also used as a cultural cue in media and fashion to evoke a particular aesthetic associated with darker hair, often contrasted with 'blonde' or 'redhead'. The word's first known English uses trace to literary borrowings in the 18th century, aligning with broader French borrowings that describe hair color and other physical traits. Through print media and advertising, the term cemented its place in everyday vocabulary, rarely requiring gendered context beyond the feminine marker. Etymologically, the path from French 'brunet' to English 'brunette' illustrates the typical pattern of gendered color terms in English borrowed from French, with pronunciation adapting to English phonology while preserving the final -ette suffix as a French diminutive-like marker.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "Brunette" and can often be used interchangeably.
🔄 These words have opposite meanings to "Brunette" and show contrast in usage.
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Words that rhyme with "Brunette"
-net sounds
Practice with these rhyming pairs to improve your pronunciation consistency:
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Brunette is pronounced with a stress on the second syllable: bru-NET. The US and UK forms commonly render as /bruˈnɛt/ or /bruˈnet/ respectively, with the second syllable carrying primary stress. Mouth positioning: start with a /br/ cluster, lips rounded slightly for /u/ or /ʊ/ quality, then a clear /n/, and finish with /ɛ/ (as in ’bed’) followed by a light /t/. For the most natural variant, think 'bru' as in 'brew' without full vowel length, and 'net' as in the common English word 'net'.
Common errors include misplacing stress (trying to stress the first syllable), pronouncing the second syllable as /nit/ instead of /nɛt/, and turning /bru/ into /brə/ or /bruː/ due to vowel drift. To correct: keep the primary stress on the second syllable: bru-NET; use a short, crisp /ɛ/ in the second syllable; end with a crisp /t/ without extra vowel after it. Practice with minimal pairs like 'brunet' vs 'brunette' to feel the feminine ending, and exaggerate the /n/ to maintain sibilance before the final /t/.
In US English, the second syllable often has /ˈnɛt/ with a clear short /ɛ/ and a rhotic non-r-orthography; in many UK variants you’ll hear /ˈbruːnet/ or /ˈbrʌnɪt/, with some speakers merging the vowel quality toward /ə/ or /ɪ/ in fast speech; Australian English tends to elongate the first vowel slightly and maintain a pure /eɪ/ or /e/ closer to /ˈbruːnɛt/ in some dialects. The key distinction is second-syllable vowel quality and final /t/ realization; all retain secondary stress patterns necessary for natural rhythm.
The challenge lies in the two-syllable rhythm with a secondary vowel shaping in the first syllable and the abrupt final /t/. Getting the second syllable stressed and ensuring a crisp /t/ without a trailing vowel can be tricky, especially for speakers with a tendency to soften final consonants. Additionally, regional vowel shifts affect the /ɛ/ versus /e/ or /ɪ/ realizations, so you’ll hear slightly different flavors across accents. Practice with phonetic breakdowns to lock the mouth positions.
A common search question is whether 'brunette' has a silent 'e' or stress pattern. The answer is no silent-e in pronunciation; the final -ette is pronounced as /ɛt/ with a single /t/ and a released final consonant, and the stress sits on the second syllable: bru-NET. IPA guidance helps you map the tongue height and lip rounding for /u/ vs /ʌ/ in the first syllable and the mid-front /ɛ/ in the second.
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