masculine

adjective

mas·cu·line | \ ˈma-skyə-lən

Definition of masculine

(Entry 1 of 2)

1a : male masculine members of the choir

b : having qualities appropriate to or usually associated with a man a masculine voice

2 : of, relating to, or constituting the gender that ordinarily includes most words or grammatical forms referring to males masculine nouns

3a : having or occurring in a stressed final syllable masculine rhyme

b : having the final chord occurring on a strong beat masculine cadence

masculine

noun

Definition of masculine (Entry 2 of 2)

1 : the masculine gender

2 : a noun, pronoun, adjective, or inflectional form or class of the masculine gender

3 : a male person

Other Words from masculine Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about masculine

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Synonyms & Antonyms for masculine

Synonyms: Adjective

male, manlike, manly, mannish, man-size (or man-sized), virile

Antonyms: Adjective

unmanly, unmasculine

Examples of masculine in a Sentence

Adjective

The living room is decorated in a more masculine style than the bedroom. “He” is a pronoun of the masculine gender. The masculine form of the Spanish adjective “linda” is “lindo.”

Noun

The masculine of the Spanish adjective “linda” is “lindo.”

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective

Taft’s predecessor, Teddy Roosevelt, would have been gaudily masculine in his martyrdom. — Lance Morrow, WSJ, "Did Chivalry Go Down With the Titanic?," 14 Dec. 2018 As Simon, Robinson is both effortlessly charming and brusquely masculine in the way of teenage boys. — Daniel D'addario, Time, "Love, Simon Is a Groundbreaking Gay Movie. But Do Today's Teens Actually Need It?," 8 Mar. 2018 As the masculine version of Alexandra, this name would pay tribute to the Queen in a similar way. — Caroline Picard, Good Housekeeping, "All of the Royal Baby Names Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Might Choose," 22 Mar. 2019 Ian Griffiths, Max Mara's creative director, introduced the Fire Coat for the Fall 2012 collection with elements that were both feminine and masculine, a dramatic collar and flattering body that also carries a sharp shoulder and sleeve. — Erik Maza, Town & Country, "Nancy Pelosi's Red Fire Coat is Officially Available to Buy," 14 Mar. 2019 The line is sophisticated, but has a uncontrived spirit that plays on masculine, feminine, and historical references. — Marina Liao, Marie Claire, "Miu Miu's Fall '19 Show Is Almost Here, and You Can Stream It Live," 5 Mar. 2019 The best outfits have a balance of feminine and masculine elements. — Roxanne Adamiyatt, Town & Country, "5 Chic Outfits that Take the Stress Out of Valentine's Day Dressing," 30 Jan. 2019 The sequence is apt in a literary sense: the lives and deaths of children is a constant theme of the Scottish tragedy, as is Lady Macbeth's desire to become a man and, failing that, to play out her ostensibly masculine ambitions through her husband. — Tony Adler, Chicago Reader, "Aaron Posner and Teller’s Macbeth is no Tempest," 9 May 2018 The internet is a place where nonbinary people can learn about mixing masculine and feminine elements to the point of obscuring concrete identification as either. — Casey Newton, The Verge, "A majority of Americans don’t think social networks are good for the world," 21 Nov. 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Sometimes named, sometimes implied in these sequences, Mister Trumpet symbolizes a masculine-powered dehumanization machine, a harbinger of a level disorder yet to arrive. — Walton Muyumba, latimes.com, "The right poetry collection for right now: Terrance Hayes' 'American Sonnets for My Past and Future Assassin'," 14 June 2018 Since people who regard themselves as masculine have spent centuries diagnosing other people’s identities, this turnabout might be considered fair play. — Crispin Sartwell, WSJ, "Conversion Therapy Isn’t the Cure for ‘Toxic Masculinity’," 1 June 2018 Regarding the masculine, Jordan Sullivan, Esteban Schimpf, Brian Merriam, Justin Tyler Close, and Shawn Theodore all make incredibly compelling and unique photographic work. — Andrea Alonso, Los Angeles Magazine, "This L.A. Photographer Captures the Female Form in Stunning and Intimate Ways," 5 Mar. 2018 Silicon Valley, is that like hyper-masculine, because the men here are not as ... — Recode Staff, Recode, "Full transcript: Lauren Goode on her final Too Embarrassed to Ask," 4 Apr. 2018 The masculine is also used when referring to a mixed group of people, even if the group consists of one man and a hundred women. — Madhvi Ramani, Smithsonian, "Will a New Law Forever Change the German Language?," 28 Feb. 2018

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