Meaning & use
masculine
Last updated
Meanings
adjectivecomparable
Having qualities or looks that people usually link with men, such as strength or a deep voice.
Grammar: Can come before a noun or after be: a masculine voice, his style is masculine.
Patterns
- masculine in something
- a masculine look
She has a low, rather masculine voice.
The room was decorated in dark, masculine colours.
He felt that cooking was not seen as masculine in his family.
adjectivenot comparabletechnical
Belonging to the grammatical class that includes words treated as male in languages with gender.
Grammar: Used in grammar for nouns, pronouns and adjectives: a masculine noun.
Patterns
- masculine noun
- masculine form
In Spanish, the word for book is masculine.
The adjective must agree with the masculine noun.
French uses a masculine article before most words starting with a consonant.
nounsingulartechnical
The grammatical gender, or a word of the gender, traditionally treated as male.
Grammar: Usually preceded by the: the masculine.
Patterns
- in the masculine
- the masculine and the feminine
The word is used in the masculine in this region.
Learners often mix up the masculine and the feminine.
The dictionary marks each noun as masculine or feminine.
Word forms
| comparative | more masculine |
|---|---|
| superlative | most masculine |
Common combinations
- masculine noun
- Sol is a masculine noun in Spanish.
- traditionally masculine
- Nursing was once seen as a job that was not traditionally masculine.
- masculine energy
- Some people describe confident leadership as masculine energy, but the idea is debated.
- masculine ending
- The word takes a masculine ending in the plural.
- masculine pronoun
- He is a masculine pronoun.
Synonyms and how they differ
- manly
- Manly is warmer and more old-fashioned, praising qualities like courage, while masculine is a more neutral descriptive term.
- male
- Male describes biological sex, whereas masculine describes qualities and styles linked with men by culture.
- virile
- Virile stresses physical strength and sexual vigour, which is narrower than masculine.
Opposites
Word family
- masculinity noun
- the qualities seen as typical of men
- masculinize verb
- to give masculine qualities to
- masculinely adverb
- in a masculine way (rare)
Commonly confused: masculine or male?
masculine vs male
Male is about biology, while masculine is about qualities, looks or grammar. A woman can have a masculine style but she is not male.
Practice
In German, the word for sun is feminine, but the word for moon is ___.
Choose one answer.
Masculine is the grammatical term for gender class. Male, manly and virile describe people or biology, not word gender.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “masculine”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.