mas ‧ cu ‧ line /ˈmæskjələn, ˈmæskjʊlən/ BrE AmE adjective
[ Date: 1300-1400 ; Language: French ; Origin: Latin masculinus , from masculus 'male' , from mas 'male' ]
1 . having qualities considered to be typical of men or of what men do OPP feminine :
They’re nice curtains, but I’d prefer something a little more masculine.
She has a very masculine voice.
Hunting was a typically masculine occupation.
2 . in some languages, a masculine noun, ↑ pronoun etc belongs to a class of words that have different ↑ inflection s from ↑ feminine or ↑ neuter words:
The word for ‘book’ is masculine in French.
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THESAURUS
■ relating to men
▪ male adjective a male teacher, singer etc is a man. Male jobs are the kind of jobs that men typically do:
Most science teachers are male.
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a male nurse
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We are trying to recruit more women to do traditionally male jobs such as engineering.
▪ masculine considered to be more typical of a man than of a woman:
He had a very masculine face.
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masculine aggression
▪ manly having the qualities that people expect and admire in a man, such as being brave and strong:
He took off his shirt, revealing his manly chest.
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It isn’t considered manly to cry.
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In the portrait, the King looked manly and in control.
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He was bronzed and athletic, with manly features and a steady gaze.
▪ macho behaving in a way that is traditionally typical of men, for example by being strong and tough and not showing your feelings – used especially either humorously or to show disapproval:
On the outside he may seem to be very macho but inside he’s very sensitive.
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Stallone always plays macho men.
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He’s far too macho to drink mineral water.