as in valiant
feeling or displaying no fear by temperament
he made the manful decision to stick by his friends when everyone else had abandoned them
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of manful
Intermittent fasting was of a piece with an interest in manful self-improvement via stoicism.
—
Molly Fischer, The New Yorker, 24 Apr. 2024
Camping with a rogue dynamiter, Siringo stuck elk horns into two neighboring peaks and claimed to have named the mountains in honor of their manful bond.
—Dan Piepenbring, Harper's Magazine, 14 Aug. 2023
The other deputies smiled, ready to toast the capital with manful drafts of vodka.
—Alex Halberstadt, Town & Country, 9 Oct. 2015
The other deputies smiled, ready to toast the capital with manful drafts of vodka.
—Alex Halberstadt, Town & Country, 9 Oct. 2015
Molly Fischer, The New Yorker, 24 Apr. 2024
Camping with a rogue dynamiter, Siringo stuck elk horns into two neighboring peaks and claimed to have named the mountains in honor of their manful bond.
—Dan Piepenbring, Harper's Magazine, 14 Aug. 2023
The other deputies smiled, ready to toast the capital with manful drafts of vodka.
—Alex Halberstadt, Town & Country, 9 Oct. 2015
The other deputies smiled, ready to toast the capital with manful drafts of vodka.
—Alex Halberstadt, Town & Country, 9 Oct. 2015
Recent Examples of Synonyms for manful
Adjective
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Fever Star Sophie Cunningham Fires Back After Most Recent WNBA Fine Despite their valiant effort, the Fever ended up losing the game by a final score of 95-90.—
Evan Massey,
MSNBC Newsweek,
23 Aug. 2025
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Harrison makes a valiant attempt to challenge Vinny on his refusal to fix the black mold that’s triggering Dante’s asthma attacks.—
Louis Peitzman,
Vulture,
8 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Selby has lived a big, courageous life, and that largesse is evident on every page, in the form of the rigor and curiosity of the narrative voice.—
Gabrielle Bellot,
Literary Hub,
12 Aug. 2025
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Now more than ever, Uncle Sam will be looking for courageous insiders to step forward to ensure that the promise to treat disease doesn’t become an opportunity to fleece taxpayers instead.—
Emma Burleigh,
Fortune,
12 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Jordana Brewster plays Dom’s loyal, caring and brave sister Mia Toretto, who becomes the wife of franchise co-lead Brian O’Conner (Paul Walker) and mother of their children.—
Skyler Trepel,
People.com,
22 Aug. 2025
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Rostam, one of the strongest and bravest heroes of Persia, kills his own son, Sohrab, because Sohrab fought for Turan, an enemy nation.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
22 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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The Second World War, the many ways the war effort was impacted by fashion, the many contributions by women which remain largely forgotten, and the many stories of heroic resistance against fascism, are this writer’s favorite.—
Rachel Elspeth Gross,
Forbes.com,
24 Aug. 2025
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None of this would land without the heroic voice acting of Pamela Adlon, who subtly dials up his boyish vocal fry into the rasp of a grown man.—
Jeremy Gordon,
The Atlantic,
22 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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The pre-match tifo at the Roker End depicted the County Durham legend of the giant Lambton worm, slayed by a gallant local hero.—
Philip Buckingham,
New York Times,
17 Aug. 2025
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In 1951, George Reeves played the gallant superhero in the first feature film based on a DC Comics character, Superman and the Mole Man.—
Zoey Lyttle,
People.com,
11 July 2025
Adjective
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Those episodes, along with many others, demonstrated Donahue's ability to combine empathy with fearless curiosity.—
Dave Quinn,
People.com,
18 Aug. 2025
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The fearless filmmaker has faced a lot of headwinds over the years but continues to find comfort in the Salute community, which balances artists with unique POVs and supporting authenti, good craft.—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
18 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Manful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/manful. Accessed 28 Aug. 2025.
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