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:
Part of their unofficial relationship homework involves field missions that spark heated conversations about masculine insecurity and Diarra’s conflicted desires about motherhood.
From Salon ● Aug. 1, 2026
“We didn’t lose because we didn’t have masculine candidates,” she said.
From Salon ● Jul. 13, 2026
Transmasculine refers to people who are born female but identify as more masculine, whether partially or fully.
From BBC ● Jun. 19, 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
“I soon noticed that, after losing a few games of chess, my opponent talked less of masculine superiority,” she wrote in her autobiography.
From "Votes for Women!" by Winifred Conkling
"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
A-h! how popular that will be with poor masculines!
From Bart Ridgeley A Story of Northern Ohio by Riddle, A. G.
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 Bywater, Ingram
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
The masculines far outnumber the feminines, and the neuters contain only ēage, eye and ēare, ear.
From Anglo-Saxon Grammar and Exercise Book with Inflections, Syntax, Selections for Reading, and Glossary by Smith, C. Alphonso (Charles Alphonso)
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.
