as in male
of, relating to, or marked by qualities traditionally associated with men
men were once expected to be interested only in such virile activities as hunting
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Recent Examples of virile
America is strong, America is virile.
—
David Remnick,
New Yorker,
6 Feb. 2026
And the possibility of a virile and serious and seriously taken black man—all three—is ignored in virtually the entire world of Cather’s and Hemingway’s fiction.
—
Literary Hub,
3 Feb. 2026
And if the ecological action epic of 2022’s Avatar: The Way of Water allowed the flower child side to dominate the auteur’s inner grunt, now the macho warrior re-emerges, hungry and determined and surprisingly virile.
—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
16 Dec. 2025
Rather than prizing animals for their beauty, their virile traits or their straight-up cool characteristics, frogposting is all about vulnerable animals—the dweebs of the animal kingdom.
—
Hazlitt,
3 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for virile
David Remnick,
New Yorker,
6 Feb. 2026
And the possibility of a virile and serious and seriously taken black man—all three—is ignored in virtually the entire world of Cather’s and Hemingway’s fiction.
—
Literary Hub,
3 Feb. 2026
And if the ecological action epic of 2022’s Avatar: The Way of Water allowed the flower child side to dominate the auteur’s inner grunt, now the macho warrior re-emerges, hungry and determined and surprisingly virile.
—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
16 Dec. 2025
Rather than prizing animals for their beauty, their virile traits or their straight-up cool characteristics, frogposting is all about vulnerable animals—the dweebs of the animal kingdom.
—
Hazlitt,
3 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for virile
Recent Examples of Synonyms for virile
Adjective
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The three remaining male juveniles were arrested in Los Angeles.
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Tom was always supposed to be the kind of male equivalent of Mary.
Adjective
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There is something stereotypically masculine about the kind of chest-pumping, overly stylish translations of your predecessors.
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In reality, Lewis says, men have a deep, wide range of feeling that encompasses both traditionally masculine and traditionally feminine aspects.
Cite this Entry
“Virile.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/virile. Accessed 29 Jun. 2026.
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