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masculinity

UK/ˌmæskjəˈlɪnɪti/US/ˌmæskjəˈlɪnɪti/
nounC1Very rare — outside the 30,000 commonest English words, so you will meet it in writing rather than in speech — masculine sits at #5,371leans written

Other forms: masculinities

Masculinity is the set of qualities a culture ties to being a man. Which qualities those are has changed a great deal and keeps changing.

The word is now used far more analytically than it once was, and phrases like toxic masculinity name a specific idea, that certain expectations of men cause harm to men as much as to anybody else. It is not a synonym for maleness, since one is biological and the other is cultural. Its counterpart is femininity, and both are about presentation rather than bodies.

Definitions of masculinity

  1. 1nounmasculinityThe qualities traditionally associated with being a man.C1

    “The book examines changing ideas of masculinity.”

Also accepted in games: manliness

Where it comes from

  1. French

    masculinité

  2. English, today

    masculinity

From French masculinité, from Old French -, equivalent to masculine + -ity. Earlier in same sense was masculineness.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in A Man Called Ove

First appears in chapter 37 of A Man Called Ove.

Practise this word

masculinity in the wild

  • To what extent masculinity is biologically or socially influenced is subject to debate.

    Masculinity

  • Standards of masculinity vary across different cultures and historical periods.

    Masculinity

  • In Western cultures, its meaning is traditionally drawn from being contrasted with masculinity.

    Femininity

  • Men's studies is an interdisciplinary academic field devoted to topics concerning men, masculinity, gender, culture, politics and sexuality.

    Men's studies

  • Machismo is the sense of being "manly" and self-reliant, a concept associated with "a strong sense of masculine pride: traditional masculinity".

    Machismo

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

Related words

  • masculine