less of a man
1
8.9
- idiom
- Offensive
:
emasculado
- After failing to fix the car, he felt less of a man for not being able to provide for his family.
- feel less of a man
Examples
-
He worried that losing his job would make him feel less of a man in front of his family.
-
Some people believe that crying makes you less of a man, but that's just a stereotype.
-
The injury left him feeling less of a man, though his friends reassured him otherwise.
-
He felt less of a man after losing his job.
-
Don't let anyone make you feel less of a man!
-
When he struggled to lift the heavy box, an embarrassment washed over him, making him feel less of a man.
-
She consoled him, reminding him that losing his job does not make him less of a man.
Synonyms
4
6.8
Not showing the strength or courage people expect from men
1
7.5
Feeling less strong or less like a man
Antonyms
How Masculine
- Informal
99
6.7
79
3.0
- Offensive
1
8.9
4
6.8
- Offensive
15
7.5
Surface Forms
Morphology
Themeaning is directly compositional: 'less' (a lower degree) combined with 'a man' yields 'not as much a man' or 'reduced manliness/status', so the inference of feeling inferior is derivable from the parts. This comparative construction is common cross-linguistically, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words will ordinarily understand the intended sense.
Etymology
Less of a man may come from a simple image: imagine someone missing the strength or social role people expect from a man, so they are a little less of one. That's why it means 'to feel inferior' or 'not fully masculine'.