matinee idol

noun

: a handsome male performer

Examples of matinee idol in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web If there were a Mount Rushmore dedicated to matinee idols of the Golden Age of Hollywood, two of the four heads would belong to Cary Grant. John Anderson, WSJ, 5 Dec. 2023 Matty was a cartoon mascot for anxiety wrapped in the packaging of a matinee idol. Thomas Lennon, Variety, 31 Oct. 2023 Indeed, Sessa has the appeal of an actor from that earlier era, when performers made their names with presence, chops and attitude more than matinee idol looks. Chris Vognar, Los Angeles Times, 11 Dec. 2023 In fact, Demeter owes its biggest debt to F.W. Murnau’s perpetually eerie 1922 silent movie, in both its channeling of that classic’s indelible sequence aboard a ship and its determination to make Max Schreck’s bug-eyed bloodsucker look like a matinee idol by comparison. David Fear, Rolling Stone, 11 Aug. 2023 Described in Look magazine in 1957 as the first Black matinee idol in entertainment history, the tall, trim and smoothly handsome singer amassed an impressive string of early accolades in an era when Black actors were mostly cast as maids, domestic helpers and laborers. Dennis McLellan, Los Angeles Times, 25 Apr. 2023 All the while, Hamm is breezing his way through a role that may not have originated with him but seems tailor-made for his skill set, doing the bespoke matinee idol/class clown act he’s turned into a niche, occasionally stopping the charm offensive to play detective so Fletch can find out…. David Fear, Rolling Stone, 26 Sep. 2022 Though rightfully celebrated in his life and at his death for having achieved many racial firsts — America's first Black movie star, matinee idol and Oscar winner for Best Actor — Poitier contributed much to social transformations taking place far beyond the movie screen. Peniel Joseph, CNN, 11 Jan. 2022 Handsome and suave, Bacharach was somewhat of a matinee idol. Duane Byrge, Billboard, 9 Feb. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'matinee idol.' 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

1897, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of matinee idol was in 1897

Dictionary Entries Near matinee idol

Cite this Entry

“Matinee idol.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/matinee%20idol. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

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