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
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
In a recent interview with MS NOW, Talarico said he “welcomed” a debate on masculinity, saying: “That seems to be what they want to talk about, so let’s talk about it.”
From Salon ● Jul. 13, 2026
I guess they feel secure enough in their masculinity that they don’t care.
From "Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda" by Becky Albertalli
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
John Wells, a 13-year-old student at Xavier College in Melbourne, did some healthier masculinities training at his school.
From BBC ● Jul. 6, 2021
Because it’s in this melding of masculinities, in this synthesis of selves, that I can both fashion my future and make peace with my past.
From The Guardian ● Oct. 19, 2020
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.
