androgynous

play

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
2a : neither specifically feminine nor masculine the androgynous pronoun themb : 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 \-nē\ noun

See androgynous defined for English-language learners

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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 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
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
With her rat-a-tat-tat style of speaking, cool androgynous wardrobe and ad feminam salvos, Ms. Paglia climbed high on the go-to list of public intellectuals for talk-show hosts and op-ed editors.

— leonore tiefer, WSJ, "The Closing of the Feminist Mind," 24 Mar. 2017
Here are a few beautiful androgynous options that any valentine would be delighted to receive: Bergamot leads this new scent from Parfums de Marly, followed by geranium, amber, pink pepper, vanilla and wood.

— coastmag, Orange County Register, "For the love of beauty," 2 Feb. 2017
What hasn’t changed is her voice: a liquid, sustained, tremulous, androgynous croon that is simultaneously weighty and unearthly, and immediately arresting.

— jon pareles, New York Times, "with the headline: Embracing a New Name, and Sound.," 21 Apr. 2016

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.