belle

Doctors talk about la belle indifférence, a state of reality-denying serenity that some patients enter while experiencing serious medical symptoms.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 7, 2026

So when the belle of the ball took a break from the revelry and sat down to order a drink, I subtly repositioned myself on the couch across from her.

From Salon ● Jul. 4, 2025

Many of them were built in the early 20th century - grand belle epoque palaces serving a then emerging class of privileged, primarily English tourists.

From BBC ● Mar. 2, 2025

He’s charismatic enough, empathetic enough and wise enough that he could be the belle of the ball next Christmas and make everybody feel like a million bucks.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2024

Von Rumpel limps through the rooms with their faded white moldings and ancient kerosene lamps and embroidered curtains and belle epoque mirrors and ships in glass bottles and push-button electrical switches, all dead.

From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr

Now, thanks to how fast AI is changing, they are the belles of the ball.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 26, 2026

If the pure plays are the current belles of the ball, IBM could be the long-term keeper for investors.

From Barron's ● Dec. 10, 2025

Tabitha Pritts, described by the local newspaper as “one of the most popular belles of the Nooksack Valley,” caught his eye, and he hers.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 20, 2023

There are no benevolent white belles and polite gentlemen in “Emancipation,” no trace of the grotesque plantation fantasies so beloved by old Hollywood.

From New York Times ● Dec. 1, 2022

She took off cantering back toward the center of town, where the society belles were gathering for an afternoon outing.

From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan