as in maleness
the set of qualities considered appropriate for or characteristic of men
some men believe that wearing pink would undermine their masculinity
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of masculinity
That’s because rhetoric that reinforces a single idea of masculinity sets unattainable standards for how men should act in the workplace.
—
Colleen Tolan, The Conversation, 3 Sep. 2025
To dismiss them outright risks backsliding into a stricter, more limited understanding of masculinity.
—Brett F. Braley-Palko, Forbes.com, 25 Aug. 2025
Gilbert began working as a journalist, and quickly established herself as a student of masculinity who had an excess of feminine charm.
—Jia Tolentino, New Yorker, 25 Aug. 2025
Less reassuring is the series’s vision of masculinity, which casts far too many men as possible despoilers and ravishers.
—Graham Hillard, The Washington Examiner, 22 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for masculinity
Colleen Tolan, The Conversation, 3 Sep. 2025
To dismiss them outright risks backsliding into a stricter, more limited understanding of masculinity.
—Brett F. Braley-Palko, Forbes.com, 25 Aug. 2025
Gilbert began working as a journalist, and quickly established herself as a student of masculinity who had an excess of feminine charm.
—Jia Tolentino, New Yorker, 25 Aug. 2025
Less reassuring is the series’s vision of masculinity, which casts far too many men as possible despoilers and ravishers.
—Graham Hillard, The Washington Examiner, 22 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for masculinity
Recent Examples of Synonyms for masculinity
Noun
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Over the course of the novel, Agu undergoes a treacherous coming of age, shedding his former identity as a bookish boy and entering into a manhood marked by extraordinary violence, abuse and horror.—
Katie Kitamura
August 21,
Literary Hub,
21 Aug. 2025
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And all this manhood, all this masculinity just strips away and falls apart and all we are left with is a heap of a human being, a small human being with all his frailties.—
Mike Fleming Jr,
Deadline,
21 Aug. 2025
Noun
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But just like the men who understood changing a diaper in the 1990s didn't take away their manliness, so can participating in their spouse's emotional needs.—
Laura Trujillo,
USA Today,
4 Sep. 2025
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There's a true earthy manliness that's really f---ing raw and awesome.—
Yolanda Machado,
EW.com,
30 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Beards emerged as legible emblems of male virility and authority just as women began demanding the vote.—
Book Marks
August 1,
Literary Hub,
1 Aug. 2025
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This emphasis on women’s bodies and behaviors is especially conspicuous amid a broader cultural preoccupation with male virility.—
Lucy Tu,
The Atlantic,
11 July 2025
Noun
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Advertisement Gudsen's fractured identity—swaggering machismo versus devoted family man—might suggest dissociative identity disorder, but Lehane resists reducing him to a clinical label.—
JP Mangalindan,
Time,
15 Aug. 2025
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But for readers, the brutality of Girlie’s work chronicles is offset by her personality—she’s got machismo, smarts, swagger.—
Sarah Rose Etter,
The Atlantic,
6 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Masculinity.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/masculinity. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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