effeminacy
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of effeminacy
First recorded in 1595–1605; effemin(ate) + -acy
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.
Dandyism’s persistent associations with criminality, effeminacy and homosexuality would achieve notoriety in Oscar Wilde’s 1895 trials.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 15, 2026
This was defined by a cultivated or performed effeminacy, including make-up, falsetto, and the use of "camp names" and female pronouns.
From Salon ● Feb. 19, 2022
Through his balletic gait and florid presentation, Mercury rubbed the nose of Live Aid’s global audience in a powerful brand of effeminacy, seducing them into adoring something they might otherwise view with contempt.
From New York Times ● Nov. 9, 2018
“Well-meaning, intelligent straight people”: For Outward’s Radical issue, Alex Borinsky writes that there’s more to camp and swish and effeminacy than meets the eye.
From Slate ● Oct. 31, 2018
There is no effeminacy in the title "nursing fathers," but the contrary.
From How to be Happy Though Married Being a Handbook to Marriage by Hardy, Edward John
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.
