masculinize

verb

mas·​cu·​lin·​ize ˈma-skyə-lə-ˌnīz How to pronounce masculinize (audio)
masculinized; masculinizing

transitive verb

: to give a chiefly masculine character to
especially : to cause (a female) to take on male characteristics
masculinization noun

Examples of masculinize in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Black women are hypersexualized all the time, and masculinized simultaneously. Aimée Lutkin, ELLE, 29 May 2023 The Arkansas SAFE Act would also ban cross-hormone therapy, a gender-affirming treatment that allows for trans people to masculinize or feminize their physical appearance to be more consistent with their gender identity. Lauren Holt, CNN, 28 Mar. 2021 Hormone microdosing is of growing interest to some nonbinary people like Rivas who want to masculinize or feminize their bodies in subtle ways. NBC News, 13 July 2019 This distress decreases or disappears for many people who take masculinizing or feminizing hormones, according to the American Psychiatric Association. NBC News, 13 July 2019 This was to be the moment of arrival for women’s soccer in France, which had been banned as too masculinizing during World War II and not given approval again by the French soccer federation until 1970. Jeré Longman, New York Times, 28 June 2019 The short war myth has also romanticized, whitewashed, and masculinized Civil War history. Fergus M. Bordewich, WSJ, 2 Oct. 2018 Reynolds had started taking testosterone earlier that year, and after years of tamping down their chest with a binder, had scheduled a consultation for top surgery (to remove breast tissue to masculinize the chest). Loren Savini, Allure, 28 Sep. 2017 The theory is straightforward enough: These chemicals mimic the effect of the feminizing hormone estrogen and can interfere with masculinizing hormones like testosterone. Bryan Walsh, Newsweek, 12 Sep. 2017

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'masculinize.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1858, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of masculinize was in 1858

Dictionary Entries Near masculinize

Cite this Entry

“Masculinize.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/masculinize. Accessed 13 Oct. 2024.

Medical Definition

masculinize

transitive verb
mas·​cu·​lin·​ize
variants also British masculinise
masculinized also British masculinised; masculinizing also British masculinising
: to give a preponderantly masculine character to
especially : to cause (a female) to take on male characteristics
masculinization noun
also British masculinisation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!