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Synonyms

manhood

American  
[man-hood] / ˈmæn hʊd /

noun

  1. the state or time of being a man or adult male person; male maturity.

  2. traditional manly qualities.

  3. maleness, as distinguished from femaleness.

  4. virility; potency.

  5. male genitalia.

  6. men collectively.

  7. the state of being human.

manhood British  
/ ˈmænhʊd /

noun

  1. the state or quality of being a man or being manly

  2. men collectively

  3. archaic the state of being human

  4. informal a euphemism for a man's genitalia

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • premanhood noun

Etymology

Origin of manhood

Middle English word dating back to 1200–50; man, -hood

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.

He likened the war to a test of manhood for boys.

From BBC • Apr. 9, 2026

The charro figure, long celebrated in cinema and music, is as much an embodiment of manhood and culture in Mexico as the cowboy is in the United States.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 23, 2026

As an invisible witness, she takes an almost anthropological approach to understanding her youngest grandchild and his peers, boys on the cusp of manhood.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 7, 2025

Second, once achieved, manhood status is tenuous and impermanent; that is, it can be lost or taken away.

From Salon • Jun. 27, 2025

I have no desire to latch onto a monster symbol of fate and prove my manhood in titanic piscine war.

From "Travels with Charley in Search of America" by John Steinbeck

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.