as in tomboyish
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Recent Examples of butch
One of the dads, Wayne Maines, for example, ticks nearly every box of that butch stereotype.
—
Leslie Felperin, HollywoodReporter, 20 Mar. 2026
Good was in a relationship with a woman, and her partner, who is butch, spoke impertinently to an ICE officer, so there, Good wasn’t your average white mother after all.
—M. Gessen, Mercury News, 27 Jan. 2026
There are still so few stories about butch women, transmasculine, genderqueer, or nonbinary bodies—the kind of bodies that have been called monstrous all our lives.
—Literary Hub, 22 Jan. 2026
Next year the more butch EX60 Cross Country model will arrive for a different vibe.
—Joel Feder, The Drive, 21 Jan. 2026
In addition to the co-star of I Saw the TV Glow, there’s also Margaret Cho (playing the hot older butch girlfriend to Haven’s more femme character), Dominique Jackson, Tomás Matos, Katy O’Brian, and more.
—James Factora, Them., 21 Oct. 2025
Maybe not as uniformly vivid as his sister, Bernadette — such a pretty name for such a tough broad, in Lea DeLaria’s priceless, super-butch performance — but vivid enough to be memorable.
—Marilyn Stasio, Variety, 28 Apr. 2022
In her academic work, Butler argues that gender and sexuality are both constructed and performative; butch identity, as female masculinity, subverts the notion that masculinity is the natural and exclusive purview of the male body.
—Kerry Manders, New York Times, 13 Apr. 2020
With Mercedes McCambridge, unforgettable as Crawford's butch nemesis, as well as Ernest Borgnine, Scott Brady, John Carradine, Royal Dano, Ward Bond, and Ben Cooper.
—Patrick Friel, Chicago Reader, 26 June 2018
Leslie Felperin, HollywoodReporter, 20 Mar. 2026
Good was in a relationship with a woman, and her partner, who is butch, spoke impertinently to an ICE officer, so there, Good wasn’t your average white mother after all.
—M. Gessen, Mercury News, 27 Jan. 2026
There are still so few stories about butch women, transmasculine, genderqueer, or nonbinary bodies—the kind of bodies that have been called monstrous all our lives.
—Literary Hub, 22 Jan. 2026
Next year the more butch EX60 Cross Country model will arrive for a different vibe.
—Joel Feder, The Drive, 21 Jan. 2026
In addition to the co-star of I Saw the TV Glow, there’s also Margaret Cho (playing the hot older butch girlfriend to Haven’s more femme character), Dominique Jackson, Tomás Matos, Katy O’Brian, and more.
—James Factora, Them., 21 Oct. 2025
Maybe not as uniformly vivid as his sister, Bernadette — such a pretty name for such a tough broad, in Lea DeLaria’s priceless, super-butch performance — but vivid enough to be memorable.
—Marilyn Stasio, Variety, 28 Apr. 2022
In her academic work, Butler argues that gender and sexuality are both constructed and performative; butch identity, as female masculinity, subverts the notion that masculinity is the natural and exclusive purview of the male body.
—Kerry Manders, New York Times, 13 Apr. 2020
With Mercedes McCambridge, unforgettable as Crawford's butch nemesis, as well as Ernest Borgnine, Scott Brady, John Carradine, Royal Dano, Ward Bond, and Ben Cooper.
—Patrick Friel, Chicago Reader, 26 June 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for butch
Adjective
-
Linda Kaye Henning charmed audiences as Betty Jo Bradley, the spirited and tomboyish youngest daughter on Petticoat Junction.—
Tereza Shkurtaj,
PEOPLE,
11 Jan. 2026
-
Off-duty, the actor can be found in statement outerwear and tomboyish button-ups and trousers.—
Hannah Jackson,
Vogue,
10 Dec. 2025
Adjective
-
Buyers surveyed over the last several weeks have offered a range of projections for the coming NFL season, with some shops anticipating a more modest overall gain for in-game deliveries (+3%) while others suggesting that Big Data will swell the TV numbers by an Amazonian +8%.—
Anthony Crupi,
Sportico.com,
22 Aug. 2025
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The artist, whose name is Luis Alfonso Palacios II, wore brown cowboy boots made with Amazonian fish leather while astride a horse at a 150-acre, 125-year-old ranch and rodeo arena in Lebanon, Tennessee.—
Marcus K. Dowling,
The Tennessean,
21 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
The music business’ macho and misogynistic tendencies had reached a peak in 1987.—
Jed Gottlieb,
Boston Herald,
26 Mar. 2026
-
There's macho panache and white-knuckle action sequences aplenty as Pitt's eccentric Formula 1 veteran plays reluctant mentor to a hotshot rookie (Damson Idris).—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
12 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
By combining elements of traditional masculine dressing with the traditionally feminine ballet flat, brands are participating in the trend without alienating shoppers.—
Jack Stanley,
Vogue,
31 Mar. 2026
-
Krapp is a farce of masculine pride, chronic bachelorhood, and, ultimately, intense loneliness; Transcription is a farce of responsibility and overwhelming attachment.—
Hannah Gold,
Harpers Magazine,
24 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
While both these trends lead away from feminine curves, there is not the slightest boyish feeling in the new mode… Another thing noticeable about the new styles is the refreshing lack of period revivals.—
Laird Borrelli-Persson,
Vogue,
28 Mar. 2026
-
At sixty-five, Petzold, with light-hazel eyes and dark hair only just beginning to silver, still wields a boyish charisma.—
Holden Seidlitz,
New Yorker,
20 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
For example, the sophisticated mindset included sophisticated, elegant, classy, formal and fancy; the masculinity mindset included masculine, tough, confident, manly and strong; and the party mindset included energetic, outgoing, fun, like partying and like celebrating.—
Logan Pant,
The Conversation,
10 Mar. 2026
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The journal inspired the 2019 BBC drama Gentleman Jack, the nickname locals gave Lister for acting in what was deemed a manly way.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
4 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Cowboy hats, jeans, a lot of alcohol and bull riding combine into a special mix of hypermasculine rituals at Mexican rodeo shows.—
Georg Szalai,
HollywoodReporter,
17 Mar. 2026
-
Jaripeo is a feature hybrid documentary that journeys to Michoacán’s hypermasculine rodeos.—
Matthew Carey,
Deadline,
12 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Butch.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/butch. Accessed 5 Apr. 2026.
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