as in femaleness
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Recent Examples of effeminacy
This horror at effeminacy echoes across Baldwin’s novels and essays.
—
Garth Greenwell, Harpers Magazine, 19 Sep. 2025
The researchers theorized this could be in part because of greater stigma toward effeminacy in boys than masculinity in girls.
—Benjamin Ryan, NBC News, 4 Oct. 2023
Other historians point to the color being linked to effeminacy.
—Aj Willingham, CNN, 25 June 2023
Lace, too, was a marker not of effeminacy but of affluence and taste.
—Piczo, The New Yorker, 20 Sep. 2021
As the nation seeks to make children tougher and young boys more masculine, gaming companies must avoid effeminacy and strictly regulate celebrity endorsement.
—Yue Wang, Forbes, 9 Sep. 2021
In popular and political culture, Malcolm and Martin represented not just separation and integration but hate and love, particularism and universalism, resentment and reconciliation, North and South, the street and the church, and, to King’s particular frustration, masculinity and effeminacy.
—Brandon M. Terry, The New York Review of Books, 11 Mar. 2021
In both cases, the disapproval has always betrayed fears of effeminacy.
—Washington Post, 7 June 2019
Garth Greenwell, Harpers Magazine, 19 Sep. 2025
The researchers theorized this could be in part because of greater stigma toward effeminacy in boys than masculinity in girls.
—Benjamin Ryan, NBC News, 4 Oct. 2023
Other historians point to the color being linked to effeminacy.
—Aj Willingham, CNN, 25 June 2023
Lace, too, was a marker not of effeminacy but of affluence and taste.
—Piczo, The New Yorker, 20 Sep. 2021
As the nation seeks to make children tougher and young boys more masculine, gaming companies must avoid effeminacy and strictly regulate celebrity endorsement.
—Yue Wang, Forbes, 9 Sep. 2021
In popular and political culture, Malcolm and Martin represented not just separation and integration but hate and love, particularism and universalism, resentment and reconciliation, North and South, the street and the church, and, to King’s particular frustration, masculinity and effeminacy.
—Brandon M. Terry, The New York Review of Books, 11 Mar. 2021
In both cases, the disapproval has always betrayed fears of effeminacy.
—Washington Post, 7 June 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for effeminacy
femininity
Noun
-
Rosalia, by now, has proven herself to be pop’s most provocative chaos agent, having released radical projects like El Mal Querer, which played with flamenco traditions and pop genres, and Motomami, an exploration of femininity through sharp-eyed production and reggaeton beats.—
Julyssa Lopez,
Rolling Stone,
4 Nov. 2025
-
Her critique also reflected (and amplified) a widespread suspicion—that trans femininity was always a performance, a costume.—
James Marcus,
New Yorker,
3 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Effeminacy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/effeminacy. Accessed 11 Nov. 2025.
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