masculine
masculine Lexical Profile
masculine Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
Having qualities, traits, or an appearance traditionally associated with men or boys.
"The study was decorated in a traditionally masculine style with dark leather armchairs and oak paneling."
Of, relating to, or constituting the grammatical gender that typically includes words referring to males as well as various other nouns in inflected languages.
"In French, the word for sun is a masculine noun, whereas the word for moon is feminine."
Relating to a rhyme or poetic meter in which the stress falls on the final syllable of a line.
"The sonnet alternates between masculine and feminine rhymes throughout its first three quatrains."
• noun
The masculine grammatical gender, or a word or inflected form belonging to that gender.
"In Spanish grammar, the adjective must be inflected in the masculine when modifying a mixed-gender group."
That which is masculine; male principles, traits, or characteristics considered collectively (usually preceded by 'the').
"Her philosophical treatise explores the balance between the masculine and the feminine in ancient mythology."
Word Nuance & Usage
'Masculine' typically refers to cultural, behavioral, or stylistic traits associated with men (as well as grammatical gender), whereas 'male' refers strictly to biological sex.
• Rhymes for masculine
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in the late 14th century from Old French 'masculin', which derives from Latin 'masculinus' ('male, of masculine gender'), itself from 'masculus', a diminutive of 'mas' ('male person or animal').