matronly

/ˈmeɪtrnli/

If someone describes you as matronly, they think you look or act like a middle-aged woman. So, if someone calls your dress matronly and you think it's hip, you may be sadly mistaken.

It's never a compliment to call someone matronly, as it brings to mind all kinds of stereotypes about being an adult woman, particularly one who's married and has kids. In fact, matronly comes from matron, which today primarily means "female prison warden," but which once meant "married woman," especially one who is respectable, unadventurous, and mature.

Definitions of matronly

1. adjective

   befitting or characteristic of a fully mature woman
   “her matronly figure”

   synonyms:

   feminine, womanly

   befitting or characteristic of a woman especially a mature woman