Sybil, who spent her younger years beleaguered by the presence of her double, that emblem of feminine conformity named Désirée, never manages to perceive herself as anything but abnormal by comparison.
—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
9 June 2026
But when Cox was bullied by her peers for acting too feminine, her teachers and mother blamed the abuse on her.
With its elegant, womanly heel curving into a narrow point and its sensible perforated top designed to resemble a man's oxford dress shoe, the oxford pump is the shoe of a woman who stands between two worlds.
—
Danielle Parker,
CBS News,
2 June 2026
Marant launched her label and had her first show in 1994, quickly becoming a byword for a hip, womanly brand of boho chic.
Known for her breathy, sultry yet girlish vocal style, Longet achieved significant success on the record charts, beginning with her 1967 debut album, Claudine, and, to a lesser extent, the subsequent The Look of Love (1967) and Love Is Blue (1968).
—
Greg Evans,
Deadline,
14 May 2026
Miho Sakoda’s Butterfly (Cio-Cio-San) managed a deft balance of girlish naiveté, true love and bitter betrayal with a soprano of apparently limitless expressivity.
—
Scott Cantrell,
Dallas Morning News,
11 Apr. 2026
The term kothi applies to a broad category of people assigned male at birth who are effeminate to varying degrees and might engage in same-sex relationships, but do not live in separate communities.
—
Charles Preston,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
28 May 2026
One of the earliest of American masculinity influencers was President Theodore Roosevelt, who touted his own transformation from a timid, effeminate man – local presses mocked him in his early career – to a rugged outdoorsman.
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.