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

The Buttigiegs have the right to be traditionally married and conventionally masculine without facing the forfeiture of their queerness. — Charles Dunst, The New Republic, "No, the Buttigiegs Are Not Straight," 18 June 2019 My adolescent insecurities led me to embark on traditionally masculine reading preferences and hobbies. — Aram Mrjoian, Longreads, "Bearing the Weight of My Grandfathers’ Old Clothes," 15 June 2019 While all of the women's power looks include traditionally masculine elements (think strong shoulders, chains, and lots of armor) in the final season, they're tailored to each character's distinct aesthetic. — Glamour, "Why All the Game of Thrones Women Are Dressing Alike in Season 8," 12 Apr. 2019 As a comic-book artist, Liefeld was drawn to a particularly masculine aesthetic: His characters were totemic, musclebound creations, all arms and torsos, their faces scored by dark lines to suggest constant internal anguish. — David Sims, The Atlantic, "The Dour Resurgence of Cable, Deadpool 2’s Anti-Hero," 23 May 2018 For most of her life, Royale, who was assigned male at birth, never identified with masculine traits. — Michael Williams, orlandosentinel.com, "From Parliament House to the world’s 1st black Miss International Queen, Jazell Barbie Royale ‘brings a song to life’," 13 June 2019 Cohn said the restaurant/bar didn’t need modernizing, but its interior is too masculine and monochrome. — Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, "Cohn Restaurant Group to take over, revamp failing Carmel Valley tavern," 8 June 2019 Boys that aren’t super masculine, don’t express themselves assertively and aggressively, or boys that don’t make objectifying comments about girls often get teased or called homophobic slurs by other boys, Dr. Brown says. — Tamekia Reece, Good Housekeeping, "An Age-by-Age Guide to Raising Boys, According to Child Development Experts," 30 Apr. 2019 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

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.