Word.ws English Dictionary

matrescent

matrescent adjective: exhibiting matrescence; becoming a mother.

Adjective

matrescent

  1. Exhibiting matrescence; becoming a mother.
    • On the other hand, the constancy of others around her could indicate a reluctance on their part to allow her the full matrescent role.1975, Dana Raphael, Being Female: Reproduction, Power, and Change, Walter de Gruyter, →ISBN, page 68
    • In reality, the matrescent/patrescent periods represent a far more complex set of behaviors, full of stress as well as joy.1993, Barbara Katz Rothman, Encyclopedia of Childbearing: Critical Perspectives, Greenwood Publishing Group, →ISBN, page 243
  2. Pertaining to those who are becoming mothers.
    • Conceptualizing birth centre care as 'gift' enables some fleshing out of the characteristics of matrescent care when enacted in the professional/woman ...2011, Rosamund Bryar, Marlene Sinclair, Theory for Midwifery Practice, Macmillan International Higher Education, →ISBN, page 192
    • Matrescent care, understood in this way, incorporates an ethical disposition. If authentic, it would manifest more broadly than in just relationships with ...2013, Denis Walsh, Soo Downe, Intrapartum Care, John Wiley & Sons, →ISBN, page 2003

Examples of matrescent in a sentence

  • These actions can be seen as matrescent in the sense of 'mothering', nurturing and protecting work colleagues.2017, Denis Walsh, Sheila Kitzinger, Norman Ellis, Improving Maternity Services: The Epidemiologically Based Needs Assessment Reviews, Vol...
  • PhotoVoice is not considered a therapeutic practice but has been shown to be a beneficial photographic practice for matrescent women.2020, Susan Hogan, Therapeutic Arts in Pregnancy, Birth and New Parenthood, Routledge, →ISBN:
  • Breastfeeding mothers are therefore in a matrescent state […]2020, Claire Arnold-Baker, The Existential Crisis of Motherhood, Springer Nature, →ISBN, page 48:

Origin of matrescent

Ultimately from Latin mātrēscēns, mātrēscō (“to become a mother”).

Questions about matrescent

What does matrescent mean?
Matrescent means exhibiting matrescence; becoming a mother.
How do you use matrescent in a sentence?
These actions can be seen as matrescent in the sense of 'mothering', nurturing and protecting work colleagues.
What part of speech is matrescent?
Matrescent is an adjective.

Words near matrescent in the dictionary

  1. Matrena
  2. matrep
  3. matres
  4. matres lectionis
  5. matrescence
  6. matrescent
  7. matresfamilias
  8. matreshka
  9. matreshkas
  10. matreshki
  11. matress

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: matrescent (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Cite this entry: “matrescent.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/matrescent. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.