androgynous

adjective an·drog·y·nous \ an-ˈdrä-jə-nəs \

Definition of androgynous

1 :having the characteristics or nature of both male and female

androgynous heroines

2 a :neither specifically feminine nor masculine

the androgynous pronoun them

b :suitable to or for either sex

androgynous clothing

3 :having traditional male and female roles obscured or reversed

an androgynous marriage

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androgynously

adverb

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androgyny

play \-nē\ noun

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Examples of androgynous in a Sentence

the androgynous hairdos favored by the hip
an actor whose androgynous looks are at the heart of his appeal

Recent Examples of androgynous from the Web

And in that presentation were androgynous rockstars and artists that live their truth, are probably made fun of every day of their life, and carry on, wave their flag and inspire the rest of us.

— julia zorthian, Time, "'We Don't Change.' Read Pink's Emotional VMA's Speech About Body Image and Her Daughter," 28 Aug. 2017
Katy Perry long ago traded candy canes and gum drops for a more elevated, androgynous look and feel.

— carly cardellino, Cosmopolitan, "Katy Perry Just Launched an Androgynous Scent That's All About Embracing Your Individuality," 17 Aug. 2017
And Rick Owens, too, chose androgynous waiflike models with long feminine hair and skirt silhouettes for his menswear show.

— thomas adamson, The Seattle Times, "Olympic spectacle upstages menswear Fashion Week in Paris," 23 June 2017
The fragrance itself, beyond its minimalistic vessel, is entirely androgynous—aptly suited to both men and women.

— nora maloney, Vanities, "Five Signature Scents to Kick Off Summer," 8 June 2017
Even then, the representation of their queerness feels flawed; all too often, there’s an androgynous skinny white girl who seduces a white femme in a relationship with a man.

— rachel charlene lewis, Glamour, "How Queer Films Continue to Fail Women of Color," 31 May 2017
Travis Banton famously went to great lengths to execute the Dietrich’s pioneering androgynous style; Cher’s elixir has been Mackie, now 77, who most recently designed the looks for her new Vegas Residency.

— brooke mazurek, Billboard, "How Cher Transformed Fashion And Became One Of The Most Influential Style Icons In Red Carpet History," 19 May 2017
With Mr. Hadreas’s aching, androgynous voice at their center, the songs deploy cinematic orchestral arrangements, spooky electronics and instruments that can sound vividly natural or treated and surreal.

— jon pareles, New York Times, "Perfume Genius Grows Brasher and More Introspective on ‘No Shape’," 3 May 2017
Other Joans of stage and screen—for example, Jean Seberg, in the Otto Preminger movie—have merely been gamine, but Lampert is truly androgynous.

— joan acocella, The New Yorker, "Heaven’s Tomboy: A Rock Musical About Joan of Arc," 25 Mar. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'androgynous.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.