virility

American  

[vuh-ril-i-tee] / vəˈrɪl ɪ ti /

noun

• virilities
  plural

1. the state or quality of being virile; manly character, vigor, or spirit; masculinity.

2. the power of procreation.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonvirility
  noun
• ultravirility
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• virilities
  plural

Etymology

Origin of virility

1580–90; < Latin virīlitās, equivalent to virīli ( s ) virile + -tās -ty ²

Explanation

Virility is a fancy word for "manliness." You could demonstrate your virility by lifting a minivan, but why be a show-off? Your virility also means that you'll need a minivan to cart around your many children. The Latin virīlitās, from vir, or "a man," is the base for the word virility. You can also use virility to refer to "macho" qualities that might seem to reflect outdated notions of masculinity. French feminist author Simone de Beauvoir once wrote, "No one is more arrogant toward women, more aggressive or scornful, than the man who is anxious about his virility.”

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

virility virilities

But behind the staged virility lies a ruler unusually preoccupied with bodily decline.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 29, 2026

But it’s also part of Netflix’s “rise and fall” true crime genre, cautioning against believing in figures like Johnson, who hooks young men by flogging a version of caveman masculinity that associates virility with dominance.

From Salon ● Jun. 1, 2025

Chakwera and Biya used very different approaches to tackle the rumours about illnesses, but they had a similar intent - to project, and protect, an image of strength and virility.

From BBC ● Oct. 18, 2024

Youth and virility are big parts of masculinity.

From Slate ● Sep. 21, 2024

A fitness buff, he would often drop to the floor of the Caltech dining hall or other public areas and do one-armed pushups to demonstrate his virility to anyone who seemed inclined to doubt it.

From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson

But, within weeks, he was at work on a chipper mural for the men’s lounge at Radio City Music Hall: orchestrated virilities of smoking, card playing, motoring, horse racing, sailing, and a barber pole.

From The New Yorker ● Jun. 13, 2016

And so, toward the end of his year, he was physically not far from where he had been on coming to Deutschland for the sake of its inspiring virilities.

From Villa Elsa A Story of German Family Life by Stuart Oliver Henry

Related Words

• manhood
• potency
• vigor