masculine adjectives

Meanings

1. 1nounplural

   Adjectives that have a special form used with masculine nouns in some languages.

   Grammar: Always plural; the singular is 'masculine adjective'.

   Patterns

   • masculine adjectives in French
   • masculine adjectives end in -o

   In Spanish, many masculine adjectives end in -o, like 'alto'.

   Students often forget to change masculine adjectives to feminine forms.

   French masculine adjectives usually add -e to become feminine.

2. 2nounplural

   Adjectives that describe qualities traditionally associated with men, such as strong or brave.

   Grammar: Used mainly in cultural or literary discussion.

   Patterns

   • masculine adjectives like strong
   • use masculine adjectives to describe

   Writers in the 1800s often used masculine adjectives like 'bold' and 'fearless' for heroes.

   The study looked at how masculine adjectives appear in advertising.

   Some critics say these masculine adjectives reinforce old stereotypes.

Common combinations

masculine adjective forms

The table shows masculine adjective forms next to feminine ones.

masculine and feminine adjectives

In French, you must learn both masculine and feminine adjectives.

agree with a masculine noun

The adjective must agree with a masculine noun in gender and number.

Synonyms and how they differ

Opposites

Word family

masculine adjective

Having qualities traditionally associated with men; also a grammatical gender.

masculinity noun

The quality of being masculine.

Commonly confused: masculine adjectives or male adjectives?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “masculine adjectives”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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