masculine
Americanadjective
-
pertaining to or characteristic of a man or men.
masculine attire.
-
having qualities traditionally ascribed to men, as strength and boldness.
- Synonyms:
- manly
-
Grammar. noting or pertaining to the gender of Latin, Greek, German, French, Spanish, Hebrew, etc., which has among its members most nouns referring to males, as well as other nouns, as Spanish dedo, “finger,” German Bleistift, “pencil.”
-
(of a woman) mannish.
noun
-
the masculine gender.
-
a noun or other element in or marking that gender.
adjective
-
possessing qualities or characteristics considered typical of or appropriate to a man; manly
-
unwomanly
-
grammar
-
denoting a gender of nouns, occurring in many inflected languages, that includes all kinds of referents as well as some male animate referents
-
( as noun )
German ``Weg'' is a masculine
-
Related Words
See male.
Other Word Forms
- hypermasculine adjective
- hypermasculinely adverb
- hypermasculineness noun
- hypermasculinity noun
- masculinely adverb
- masculineness noun
- masculinity noun
- nonmasculine adjective
- nonmasculinely adverb
- nonmasculineness noun
- nonmasculinity noun
- pseudomasculine adjective
- supermasculine adjective
- supermasculinity noun
- ultramasculine adjective
- unmasculine adjective
- unmasculinely adverb
Etymology
Origin of masculine
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English masculin, from Latin masculīnus, equivalent to mascul(us) “male” ( mās “male” + -culus -cule 1 ) + -īnus -ine 1
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.
Even Mathew Knowles has publicly fiddled with the true name of his diagnosis, opting instead for the not-quite-accurate “chest cancer” and also “male breast cancer,” which falsely implies a masculine version of the disease.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 17, 2026
It’s not dense, it doesn’t blabber on and it certainly doesn’t reek of masculine self-obsession.
From Salon • Mar. 8, 2026
A German listener can instantly narrow the options, ruling out masculine or neuter singular nouns.
From Science Daily • Feb. 20, 2026
The mild-mannered yet imposingly masculine Andrew is quietly appealing as he deals with his erratic wife’s sudden tantrums and plate-shattering outbursts.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 18, 2025
This was a command on which he tried to confer urgent masculine authority.
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
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.
