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:
The author’s fondness for masculine attire and habits—she enjoyed smoking cigars—has never ceased to generate ticklish speculation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 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
Transmasculine refers to people who are born female but identify as more masculine, whether partially or fully.
From BBC ● Jun. 19, 2026
Dwayne Johnson’s performance in “The Smashing Machine,” for all the film’s flaws, cleverly reconciled the dissonance between the outward images of masculine power and internal feelings of self-loathing.
From Salon ● May 27, 2026
In saying a melon, you need to use the masculine article.
From "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris
The ladies put on their most scrumptious dresses, and the masculines blaze in red and blue and green neckties that almost set you on fire.
From Phemie Frost's Experiences by Ann S. (Ann Sophia) Stephens
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 Thomas Embly Osmun
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 nominative of masculines of the first declension in Α belongs to the Latin, Homeric, Dryopian, Thessalian, Bœotian, Macedonian, and Elean dialects.
From The History and Antiquities of the Doric Race, Vol. 2 of 2 by Karl Otfried Müller
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
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.
