wlw
3 synonyms and 1 antonyms for wlw, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.
Noun — Women loving women: an umbrella term for women attracted to other women, taking in lesbian, bisexual, pansexual and queer women alike.
Synonyms
Rare, literary or technical
Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.
Synonyms by Meaning
1. noun
Women loving women: an umbrella term for women attracted to other women, taking in lesbian, bisexual, pansexual and queer women alike.
“The playlist is tagged wlw and sapphic.”
Opposites
2. adjective
Describing a relationship, character or story involving two women in love.
“It's the best wlw film I've seen this year.”
How to Use Wlw
The word patterns that sound natural to a native speaker.
Written lower case. It grew up on Tumblr, AO3 and TikTok as a tag, and is used mostly within LGBTQ+ communities. It is deliberately broad, which is why bisexual and pansexual women use it where "lesbian" would not fit.
Etymology
An initialism of women loving women.
Full origin of wlw →Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between wlw and lesbian?
Lesbian means a woman attracted only to women. wlw is broader: it covers any woman attracted to women, including bisexual and pansexual women. Every lesbian is wlw, but not every wlw woman is a lesbian.
What is the difference between wlw and sapphic?
They overlap almost entirely and are often used interchangeably. Sapphic has a literary flavour, from the poet Sappho of Lesbos, while wlw is plainer tagging shorthand from fandom and social media.
What is the male equivalent of wlw?
mlm, meaning men loving men. Be aware that in business contexts mlm means multi-level marketing, an unrelated thing entirely.