effeminacy
1
9.1
- noun
- /ɪˈfɛmɪnəsi/
- Offensive
:
afeminamiento
- Leave behind the effeminacy that prevails nowadays because of technology and the ease of life that it affords.
Examples
-
The Hindus were further concerned and aggrieved by British insults about their physical weakness and "effeminacy" versus the virility and masculinity of Muslims, especially those from the northwest region.
Academic text (2002) -
While Sophocles' hero complains about his son's voluntary effeminacy, Valle's protagonist deplores the emasculation of the Spanish worker by the State.
Academic text (1994) -
From behind, his plumpness made him almost pear-shaped, and there was a hint of effeminacy in his step.
Fiction book (1993) -
Will you tell me how to prevent luxury from producing effeminacy, intoxication, extravagance, vice, and folly?
Academic text (1996) -
For the emerging voices of that class, represented in Fraser's Magazine, defining a form of masculinity that did not exhibit the effeminacy of a feckless aristocracy became something of a preoccupation.
Academic text (1999) -
His display of effeminacy led to whispers among his peers about his masculinity.
-
Many people wrongly associate effeminacy with weakness rather than seeing it as a form of expression.
-
In a traditional society, the effeminacy of certain behaviors can provoke stigma and prejudice.
Synonyms
A quality of being like a woman often used to criticise a man
The state of being seen as not brave or strong by other people
Antonyms
How Feminine
Surface Forms
Morphology
effeminacy = effeminate (semi-transparent) = femin + acy
Standard noun formation from the adjective 'effeminate' using '-acy' to denote a state or quality; predictable if a learner knows 'effeminate'.
Etymology
Effeminacy comes from Latin parts e- 'out' and femina 'woman', so it originally meant 'made like a woman'. The same root is in feminine and female, which is why effeminacy now means showing qualities thought of as 'female' or 'unmanly', and it is often used as a negative word.