hoydenish

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

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for hoydenish
Adjective
  • At night, as the temperature cools, Dahlia’s warms up into a joyous watering hole for locals and visitors alike, with the quieter overflow lounging in the secondary Moss Bar next door, which takes on a more masculine energy with its green walls and taxidermy decor.
    Elise Taylor, Vogue, 8 Oct. 2025
  • There were nods to the house codes with the 1920s silhouettes and the masculine suiting that Madame Chanel favored.
    Martino Carrera, Footwear News, 7 Oct. 2025
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
Adjective
  • Dior’s collection referenced the H-line created by its founder Christian Dior for Fall-Winter 1954-1955 – a controversial silhouette at the time as its flattened shape appeared, for some, unfeminine.
    Alice Pfeiffer, CNN, 28 Jan. 2025
  • 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
Adjective
  • Rebecca Ferguson is sharing more details about her experience clashing with a male actor on set while filming a movie.
    Giana Levy, Variety, 11 Oct. 2025
  • The male gaze came roaring back this summer.
    Madeline Holcombe, CNN Money, 11 Oct. 2025
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.

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Cite this Entry

“Hoydenish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hoydenish. Accessed 15 Oct. 2025.

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