masculinity
Americannoun
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masculinities
plural
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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anti-masculinitynoun
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hypermasculinitynoun
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nonmasculinitynoun
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pseudo-masculinitynoun
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supermasculinitynoun
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Explanation
Masculinity is the quality of manliness — habits and traits that society considers to be appropriate for a man. While certain jobs and professions have traditionally been associated with masculinity, like the military and firefighting, for example, these associations have begun to change as more women have pursued those types of careers. Some typical traits of masculinity include physical strength, a muscular body, and facial hair. The Latin root of masculinity is masculinus, "male," which comes from masculus, or "worthy of a male."
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.
See Examples For:
Ohl criticised this view of masculinity as problematic, warning it normalised an idea of "the biological male who is potentially more violent and aggressive".
From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026
Sue Davison says the rise of toxic masculinity among influencers has a serious impact on "disenfranchised boys"
From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026
Following two rising British soccer players in a hotel room before their first-ever Champions League match, the work explores masculinity, desire and fame.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026
To understand peptide mania, he said, you need to understand that wellness has become profoundly obsessed with masculinity.
From Slate ● Jul. 29, 2026
Being secure in your masculinity isn’t the same as being straight.
From "Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda" by Becky Albertalli
Ben Hurst from Beyond Equality, a UK-based organisation focused on "rethinking masculinities", speaks to young men in schools.
From BBC ● Apr. 24, 2026
On a more positive note, it’s encouraging to see that many people are really interested in thinking more critically about men and masculinities than perhaps they've ever been.
From Salon ● Oct. 25, 2024
There is not, for example, enough deep research on African American masculinities, Latino masculinities, poor masculinities or rural masculinities.
From Scientific American ● Aug. 3, 2023
We were all dressed in suits, and some of us who were more effeminate or more borderless in our construction of Black masculinities were put into this very respectable kind of presentation.
From New York Times ● Sep. 16, 2022
But there were frivolities in the education of women then which were almost as conspicuous as are the masculinities that have since taken their place.
From A Captain in the Ranks A Romance of Affairs by George Cary Eggleston
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.
