androgynous

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

|Updated on: 8 Jun 2018

Examples: androgynous in a Sentence

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

—

androgynously

adverb

—

androgyny

play \an-ˈdrä-jə-nē\ noun

See androgynous defined for English-language learners

See androgynous defined for kids

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 while her hair, as well as her lithe yet muscular figure, often skewed androgynous, her makeup played up her almond gaze, pyramid-sharp cheekbones, and pillowy mouth to super-goddess effect.

— lauren valenti, Vogue, "Happy Birthday, Grace Jones! 18 Times the Fearless Pop Icon Broke the Beauty Mold," 19 May 2018
Entireworld markets an androgynous-leaning set of bright pastel t-shirts, striped socks, and $95 monochromatic button-downs on a website that resembles an early Apple ad, down to the stiff serif logo.

— kyle chayka, The New Republic, "How Tech Is Remaking Fashion in Its Image," 9 May 2018
Their concerns also extended to cisgender people who might look or act differently from the majority, such as people of different races, people the algorithms perceive as androgynous, and people with unique facial structures.

— foad hamidi, Scientific American, "Can Gender Be Computed?," 15 May 2018
The aesthetic is again androgynous; a men’s section is marked on one wall but isn’t much of a departure from the rest of the store, with offerings in various shades of neutral.

— kyle chayka, The New Republic, "How Tech Is Remaking Fashion in Its Image," 9 May 2018
Or an androgynous person wearing a tiny fedora and Spanx.

— anna pulley, RedEye Chicago, "Ask Anna: How do I convince my wife to have another threesome?," 16 Jan. 2018
Rihanna has reigned over the Met Gala red carpet for a decade now, captivating the fashion crowd with everything from her game-changing androgynous take on black tie dressing in 2009 to last year’s sculptural floral Commes des Garçons masterpiece.

— sophie dodd, PEOPLE.com, "A Comprehensive Guide to All of Rihanna's Jaw-Dropping Met Gala Looks," 4 May 2018
Pansexuality is a more expansive label than bisexual, including attraction beyond the male-female gender binary, to include those who are trans, gender-fluid, androgynous, intersex and more.

— lisa bonos, chicagotribune.com, "Janelle Monáe comes out as 'pansexual' - what does that mean?," 28 Apr. 2018
Alexa, for example, identifies as such, whereas Danielle’s gender expression is androgynous, or a gender expression that is simultaneously feminine and masculine, but not necessarily in equal amounts.

— vera papisova, Teen Vogue, "Pansexuality and Being Pansexual: Everything You Need to Know," 27 Apr. 2018

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.