unmanly
Americanadjective
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not manly; not characteristic of or befitting a man; weak, timid, or cowardly.
adjective
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not masculine or virile
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ignoble, cowardly, or dishonourable
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of unmanly
Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; see origin at un- 1, manly
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.
"In this category, he exhibits one of the most unmanly of behaviors: He's a blamer," Nichols writes.
From Salon ● May 25, 2020
While soccer is the global game, the CPL is describing their brand as “distinctly Canadian”, an attacking hard-nosed style where the feigning of phantom injuries is seen as unmanly.
From Reuters ● Oct. 31, 2019
Mocked with such unmanly epithets as “weakling” and “Oscar Wilde”, Roosevelt tried to overcome, Gore Vidal once pointed out, “his physical fragility through ‘manly’ activities of which the most exciting and ennobling was war”.
From The Guardian ● Mar. 17, 2018
“From what source come these unmanly fears that prevail among us? ... What is it that has shaken the nerves of so many?” asked journalist Walter Lippmann, himself not a little shaken by the proposal.
From Slate ● Mar. 30, 2017
And it seemed to me that there was something unmanly about my attachment to literature.
From "Hunger of Memory" by Richard Rodriguez
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.
