masculine
Americanadjective
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pertaining to or characteristic of a man or men.
masculine attire.
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having qualities traditionally ascribed to men, as strength and boldness.
- Synonyms:
- manly
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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.”
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(of a woman) mannish.
noun
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masculines
plural
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the masculine gender.
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a noun or other element in or marking that gender.
adjective
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possessing qualities or characteristics considered typical of or appropriate to a man; manly
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unwomanly
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grammar
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denoting a gender of nouns, occurring in many inflected languages, that includes all kinds of referents as well as some male animate referents
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( as noun )
German ``Weg'' is a masculine
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Synonym Usage
See male.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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hypermasculinenessnoun
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hypermasculinitynoun
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masculinenessnoun
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masculinitynoun
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nonmasculinenessnoun
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nonmasculinitynoun
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supermasculinitynoun
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hypermasculineadjective
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nonmasculineadjective
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pseudomasculineadjective
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supermasculineadjective
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ultramasculineadjective
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unmasculineadjective
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hypermasculinelyadverb
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masculinelyadverb
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nonmasculinelyadverb
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unmasculinelyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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
Explanation
If something’s masculine, it’s related to men. When you hear a masculine voice outside greeting your neighbor, you know it’s your dad and not your mom. Masculine can describe people or things that have qualities often associated with men. If someone has a masculine appearance, the person is probably tall and strong. If your new jacket has masculine tailoring, that means it’s cut like a man’s jacket. Masculine can also refer to words. In many languages, words — especially nouns — are given a gender. If you’ve studied French or Spanish, you know you need to figure out which article to use with a masculine noun.
Vocabulary lists containing masculine
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:
Hartnett stands out among the roster of stubborn, uncompromisingly masculine leading men from his heyday, proving that there’s much more to winning over an audience than simply playing into the public’s perception.
From Salon ● Oct. 9, 2026
This character is all about this image of masculine perfection and masculine ego, and a supposed war hero.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026
To compound matters, the masculine ego trap also tells a man that he’s not worthy of what he wants until he achieves some nebulous milestone that, again, sets him apart from other men.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026
“I grew up listening to a lot of masculine salsa and I thought it would be interesting to approach that type of energy from a woman’s perspective,” she explained.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 2026
“I can be male, female, masculine, feminine, neither, both.”
From "The 57 Bus" by Dashka Slater
"Dazzling, by God!" whispered some of the masculines that stood apart, and there were others that spoke not a word, but stood spell-bound at her majestic mien.
From Mistress Penwick by Dutton Payne
Nouns signifying males are masculines; as, fear a man, righ a king, sagart a priest, tarbh a bull, cu a dog.
From Elements of Gaelic Grammar by Alexander Stewart
The masculines end in -a, the feminines and neuters in -e.
From Anglo-Saxon Grammar and Exercise Book with Inflections, Syntax, Selections for Reading, and Glossary by C. Alphonso (Charles Alphonso) Smith
All ending in N, P, S, or in the two compounds of this last, PS and X, are masculines.
From Aristotle on the art of poetry by Ingram Bywater
The neuter nouns of the a-Declension differ from the masculines only in the N.A. plural.
From Anglo-Saxon Grammar and Exercise Book with Inflections, Syntax, Selections for Reading, and Glossary by C. Alphonso (Charles Alphonso) Smith
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