as in feminine
of or relating to a man who has or displays qualities traditionally considered more suitable for women
he had a high and somewhat effeminate voice
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Recent Examples of effeminate
In both sketches, Keaton plays an effeminate man who doesn’t quite understand the assignment.
—
Rosa Escandon, Forbes, 20 Oct. 2024
She’d been bullied by kids in grade school and subjected to physical harm for being a boy who was, in their judgment, too effeminate.
—Jon Freeman, Rolling Stone, 8 Dec. 2022
American culture was brilliantly exposed — and neutered — through an effeminate homosexual artist’s application of drag.
—Los Angeles Times, 25 July 2022
From an early age, I was considered by other cisgender males of my age to be effeminate.
—Marc Jacobs, Vogue, 13 June 2022
See All Example Sentences for effeminate
Rosa Escandon, Forbes, 20 Oct. 2024
She’d been bullied by kids in grade school and subjected to physical harm for being a boy who was, in their judgment, too effeminate.
—Jon Freeman, Rolling Stone, 8 Dec. 2022
American culture was brilliantly exposed — and neutered — through an effeminate homosexual artist’s application of drag.
—Los Angeles Times, 25 July 2022
From an early age, I was considered by other cisgender males of my age to be effeminate.
—Marc Jacobs, Vogue, 13 June 2022
See All Example Sentences for effeminate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for effeminate
Adjective
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Emin’s masterpiece thumbed its nose at a tradition of recumbent feminine flesh on tousled white sheets (think Titian’s Venus of Urbino, Manet’s Olympia, or any number of bosomy Lucian Freud nudes).—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
21 Apr. 2026
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Fans of adidas will love the brand's iconic three-stripe design featured heavily throughout, and newcomers who prefer a feminine touch might fall for some of the pieces in pastel colorways or the flowy, body-skimming styles.—
Kelsey Legg,
ABC News,
20 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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In Benediction, Terence Davies had to split Siegfried Sassoon into two (Jack Lowden, Peter Capaldi) to create a comparably complex personality, but Scott’s Adam is all the more moving for being less refined, a performance of sustained fragility and unmanly truth.—
Armond White,
National Review,
29 Dec. 2023
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Why is his governess, Mrs. Brock, fired for encouraging Richard’s unmanly interest in poetry and music?—
Francine Prose,
The New York Review of Books,
22 Nov. 2018
Cite this Entry
“Effeminate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/effeminate. Accessed 28 Apr. 2026.
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