androgynous
Americanadjective
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neither clearly masculine nor clearly feminine in appearance.
Their new clothing collection is inspired by the androgynous look of many rock stars.
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having an ambiguous gender or having both masculine and feminine gender characteristics.
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possessing both male and female physical sex traits.
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Botany. having staminate and pistillate flowers in the same inflorescence.
adjective
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botany having male and female flowers in the same inflorescence, as cuckoo pint
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having male and female characteristics; hermaphrodite
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of androgynous
Explanation
If you describe something as androgynous, you are saying that you can't classify it as strictly male or female. If you are looking for an androgynous name, for example, choose Pat. You can see the meaning of androgynous in its parts: In Greek, andros means "male" and gyn means "female." Someone who is androgynous has both male and female characteristics, and therefore may be mistaken for being a member of the opposite gender. Don't confuse androgynous with unisex, which describes objects or places used by both males and females, like a unisex restroom.
Vocabulary lists containing androgynous
Almost American Girl
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Between Shades of Gray
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Dry
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
After growing up in wild isolation on the moors, they published groundbreaking novels under androgynous pseudonyms.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026
The most difficult section, “Gendered Dialogues,” delves into Kahlo’s sometimes androgynous appearance and, more poignantly, her boundary-breaking works about her body and the pains of childbirth and miscarriage.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 1, 2026
It starts with the basics, including a name as clean and uncluttered as his profile, and Dean’s timeless, almost androgynous good looks.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 30, 2025
Bowie, who died in 2016, created the Ziggy Stardust character - an androgynous, alien rock star - as a stage persona in 1972.
From BBC ● Mar. 6, 2025
We meet Eva, who is stop-you-in-your-tracks gorgeous—tall, sort of androgynous, with light brown skin and closely cropped hair.
From "Leah on the Offbeat" by Becky Albertalli
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
