as in maleness
the set of qualities considered appropriate for or characteristic of men
some men believe that wearing pink would undermine their masculinity
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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.
Recent Examples of masculinity
Yet the car was also a burden, with high monthly interest payments, which put savage masculinity at odds with paternal liability.
—
Weike Wang, New Yorker, 17 May 2026
And, most gratifyingly for a genre that can sometimes feel stuck in retrograde masculinity, a lot of those three-dimensional characters are women.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 14 May 2026
There’s so much discussion about hockey and locker room talk and (toxic) masculinity and all that culture.
—Dessi Gomez, Deadline, 13 May 2026
The central performances are strong, with Brown perfectly embodying a sinister, otherworldly image of masculinity run amok.
—Jourdain Searles, HollywoodReporter, 13 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for masculinity
Weike Wang, New Yorker, 17 May 2026
And, most gratifyingly for a genre that can sometimes feel stuck in retrograde masculinity, a lot of those three-dimensional characters are women.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 14 May 2026
There’s so much discussion about hockey and locker room talk and (toxic) masculinity and all that culture.
—Dessi Gomez, Deadline, 13 May 2026
The central performances are strong, with Brown perfectly embodying a sinister, otherworldly image of masculinity run amok.
—Jourdain Searles, HollywoodReporter, 13 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for masculinity
Recent Examples of Synonyms for masculinity
Noun
-
The men handling their maleness was interesting.—
Jackson McHenry,
Vulture,
1 Dec. 2025
-
Fact is Bruce Springsteen has forever been a man of the people, a man in search of his own definition of his maleness and his humanity.—
Kevin Powell,
MSNBC Newsweek,
24 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Why beef culture and agriculture matter in Texas Some of Talarico's critics seemed to be ripping on his manhood, referencing his support for the LGBTQ+ community, along with the purportedly unmanly notion of having, at one time, eschewed meat.—
Rebecca Morin,
USA Today,
29 May 2026
-
The fact that [Ruben] is infertile and what that means to his manhood, and his ability to be masculine and reproduce and have a son.—
Chris Murphy,
Vanity Fair,
29 May 2026
Noun
-
The fashion for bushy beards, and beards’ association with authentic manliness, has followed this same trajectory from irony to earnestness during its various resurgences since the early 19th century.—
Daniel Engber,
The Atlantic,
20 Feb. 2026
-
Suck it up, and embrace the steely, Vader-esque manliness of this Ultra-Tough cooler from RTIC.—
Matthew Korfhage,
Wired News,
10 Dec. 2025
Noun
-
The able-bodied white male stood for the virility of the New Deal nation-state.—
John P. Murphy,
ARTnews.com,
5 Apr. 2026
-
And the working women clearly recognize the virility of him.—
Danielle Parker,
CBS News,
27 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Bouillon’s Anthony is a man’s man, rough around the eyes with unapologetic machismo as his default personality.—
Carlos Aguilar,
IndieWire,
15 May 2026
-
Yulieth, on the cusp of adolescence, faces the difficulties of growing up in a wild territory where natural beauty coexists with the hostility of machismo.—
Matthew Carey,
Deadline,
6 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Masculinity.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/masculinity. Accessed 2 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
