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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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:
“All of our definitions about masculine and feminine are evolving … It doesn’t necessarily have to be only for a man. I really like that idea, particularly as the definitions of masculinity are in transition.”
From Salon ● May 27, 2026
Fiedler’s propositions about masculine relationships turned out to be merely the opening shocks in his critical investigations of our country’s literary past.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026
For drag kings, who are usually assigned female at birth but play masculine characters, the art form is more than just a performance; it’s how they defy gender and cultural norms.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 30, 2026
"But I promise you it worked. That was when I started to to explore the discomfort of masculine pressure."
From BBC ● Apr. 21, 2026
In such a masculine household, Tessie had begun to feel like the odd woman out and saw herself in ten years’ time imprisoned in a world of hubcaps and hernias.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
"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 Payne, Dutton
About the end of the 11th century feminines not ending in e = ǝ take, by analogy of the masculines, s in the nom. sing., thus distinguishing nom. flors from acc. flor.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 11, Slice 1 "Franciscans" to "French Language" by Various
A-h! how popular that will be with poor masculines!
From Bart Ridgeley A Story of Northern Ohio by Riddle, A. G.
All the other oldest relatives gradually dropt away, and 'that' came to be applied also to plural antecedents, and to masculines and feminines.
From The Verbalist A Manual Devoted to Brief Discussions of the Right and the Wrong Use of Words and to Some Other Matters of Interest to Those Who Would Speak and Write with Propriety. by Osmun, Thomas Embly
A century later, masculines without s in the nom. sing. take this consonant by analogy of the other masculines, giving leres as nom. similar to tors.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 11, Slice 1 "Franciscans" to "French Language" by Various
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.
