as in maleness
the set of qualities considered appropriate for or characteristic of men
some men believe that wearing pink would undermine their masculinity
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of masculinity
Younger girls ratcheted up their femininity, while older boys ratcheted up their masculinity.
—
Adam Stanaland, The Conversation, 19 Mar. 2026
Annie Jenkins & Aduke King — Writer-director Annie Jenkins (BFI London Script Lab, HollyShorts, Theatre503) and producer Aduke King (BFI London Film Festival programmer) develop Ripe, a psychological body horror exploring masculinity and inheritance.
—Max Goldbart, Deadline, 18 Mar. 2026
The libretto by Clare Fuyuko Bierman concerns three young men in a UCLA dorm room, two of whom are obsessed with a dark version of masculinity and are radicalizing each other.
—Michael Zwiebach, San Francisco Chronicle, 14 Mar. 2026
For Fisher, the film offered an opportunity to explore masculinity and parenting from a perspective rarely seen on screen.
—Seth Abramovitch, HollywoodReporter, 13 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for masculinity
Adam Stanaland, The Conversation, 19 Mar. 2026
Annie Jenkins & Aduke King — Writer-director Annie Jenkins (BFI London Script Lab, HollyShorts, Theatre503) and producer Aduke King (BFI London Film Festival programmer) develop Ripe, a psychological body horror exploring masculinity and inheritance.
—Max Goldbart, Deadline, 18 Mar. 2026
The libretto by Clare Fuyuko Bierman concerns three young men in a UCLA dorm room, two of whom are obsessed with a dark version of masculinity and are radicalizing each other.
—Michael Zwiebach, San Francisco Chronicle, 14 Mar. 2026
For Fisher, the film offered an opportunity to explore masculinity and parenting from a perspective rarely seen on screen.
—Seth Abramovitch, HollywoodReporter, 13 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for masculinity
Recent Examples of Synonyms for masculinity
Noun
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The men handling their maleness was interesting.—
Jackson McHenry,
Vulture,
1 Dec. 2025
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Fact is Bruce Springsteen has forever been a man of the people, a man in search of his own definition of his maleness and his humanity.—
Kevin Powell,
MSNBC Newsweek,
24 Oct. 2025
Noun
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These pivotal memories of Clark and Floyd’s buddy romance amount to another darkly comic portrait of a nontoxic male friendship — complete with nontraditional definitions of manhood that place meaningful friendships over monolithic strength — all built on a foundation of lies and insecurities.—
Andy Andersen,
Vulture,
23 Mar. 2026
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Playing boxer Jake LaMotta, Robert De Niro gave all of his mind and body to this portrait of a man destroyed by his anger, his jealousies, his pride, his retrograde notions of manhood.—
Devan Coggan,
Entertainment Weekly,
15 Mar. 2026
Noun
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The fashion for bushy beards, and beards’ association with authentic manliness, has followed this same trajectory from irony to earnestness during its various resurgences since the early 19th century.—
Daniel Engber,
The Atlantic,
20 Feb. 2026
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Suck it up, and embrace the steely, Vader-esque manliness of this Ultra-Tough cooler from RTIC.—
Matthew Korfhage,
Wired News,
10 Dec. 2025
Noun
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Peptides marketed for growth, virility and other effects are hormone mimickers, trying to do the job the body's natural hormones already perform.—
Nicole Villalpando,
Austin American Statesman,
14 Mar. 2026
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And the working women clearly recognize the virility of him.—
Danielle Parker,
CBS News,
27 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Yet maybe, as the cartoonish machismo of Trumpism proves its hollowness, America’s latent resentment can be channeled to better ends.—
Spencer Kornhaber,
The Atlantic,
27 Mar. 2026
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Co-directors Efraín Mojica and Rebecca Zweig mix cinema vérité, Super 8 footage, and stylized scenes into a cocktail where machismo and queerness come together.—
Georg Szalai,
HollywoodReporter,
17 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Masculinity.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/masculinity. Accessed 1 Apr. 2026.
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