You probably know that blond/blonde is an adjective describing hair of a yellow-gold color.
The difference between blond and blonde is purely one of spelling and grammatical gender, and this difference is quickly disappearing in the present day.
Blond(e) in English is originally borrowed from French, in which adjectives take different forms depending on the gender (sex) of their nouns—male or female. We do not generally recognize this distinction in English, although we have many gendered nouns for people, such as actor/actress, or the obvious boy/girl, etc. However, we sometimes hold on to old habits in any language, especially for extremely basic words, such as blond(e).
Major style guides recommend maintaining this distinction for the moment, although it is fading:
My sister has blonde hair even though my father’s is blond.
However, in practice, blond is becoming the default in America, while blonde is becoming the default in the UK. So, if you don’t know, use blond in US English and blonde for UK English.
And, there is another issue, which may be why blonde is disappearing in America. Some people consider it sexist to have words that are different for females. So, many Americans now say that there should be no actresses or waitresses—only actors and servers, who could be male or female—and the same for blond. But these ideas have not gained universal acceptance yet.
So, in conclusion, the safest policy is to use blonde for females, blond for males, and for gender neutral language, blond in the US and blonde in the UK. But don’t be surprised if other people do otherwise!
More Examples of Blond/Blonde Usage in a Sentence
- I have a blonde wig that I wear when I want to change my hair color, so I won't be noticed when I go into public spaces.
- He was the most handsome blond I've ever seen.
- Jared had blond hair, but his beard was gray.
- She hated her hair and wanted to dye it blond, though she hated this amorphous social pressure even more.
- Sarah rolled her eyes at the saying that blondes have more fun—apparently she had a very different definition of fun.