hoydenish

adjective

Definition of hoydenishnext
as in masculine
having qualities or traits that are traditionally considered inappropriate for a girl or woman a designer whose eclectic spring line paired hoydenish work boots with frilly skirts

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for hoydenish
  1. masculine
  2. unladylike
  3. unfeminine
  4. male
Adjective
  • The colors are widely understood to respectively represent masculine and feminine genders, which are usually assigned at birth, as well as persons who are agender (genderless or gender neutral), intersex, or in gender transition.
    — Brian Duignan, Encyclopedia Britannica, 25 Aug. 2026
  • Instead, Brink and stylist Shiona Turini consistently blend masculine tailoring and feminine silhouettes to create looks worth emulating all autumn long.
    — Emily Tannenbaum, Glamour, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of masculine
Adjective
  • That would have been unladylike.
    — Lucy Worsley September 16, Literary Hub, 16 Sep. 2025
  • The new girl’s unladylike bravado ensures that she will be asked to board with the Brown girl.
    — Chris Bohjalian, Washington Post, 17 Aug. 2023
Definition of unladylike
Adjective
  • Women fighting for the right to vote were seen by their detractors as unfeminine, and vinegar valentines were a cheap and convenient medium to enforce gender roles.
    — Melissa Chan, Fortune, 14 Feb. 2026
  • The intention behind this final postcard may have been, yet again, to paint the fight for suffrage as absurd, to make suffragists seem like willful, unfeminine animals.
    — Natalie Kinkade, JSTOR Daily, 25 Sep. 2024
Definition of unfeminine
Adjective
  • The male victim was taken to an area hospital, where he was pronounced dead, police said.
    — Jason Green, Mercury News, 22 Aug. 2026
  • Non-smoking women are nearly twice as likely to develop lung cancer as their male counterparts.
    — Geri Stengel, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of male
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.

Browse Nearby Words

hoyden
hoydenish
hoydens
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Hoydenish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hoydenish. Accessed 28 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of cogent

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Commonly Misspelled Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Words of the Week - Aug. 28

Why do we say 'break a leg'?
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
skateboard-dog-hat
Wordmaxxing Slang Quiz Give your vocabulary a glow up by getting sendy w...
See All