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manliness

manliness

8 4.4
The qualities people often expect from men, like strength and courage
  • noun
  • /ˈmænlinəs/
translation icon : masculinidad
  • Many cultures emphasize strength and courage as core aspects of manliness.
  • heroism and manliness
  • manliness and prowess
  • concept of manliness

And this is about manliness or virility.

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Examples

  • John Adams echoed Madison's insistence that manliness requires sober deliberation.

    Academic text (2009)
  • "Ma," she answered, struck by the manliness of his young voice.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • Or to use his term again, virtue is related with manliness, with force, with power.

  • Yes, but you always do it with such ... manliness, that I never tire of watching you.

  • You've been talking about manliness.

  • Professor John M. Kang presents a survey of the concept of manliness enshrined in the Constitution and American political culture.

    Academic text (2009)
  • Many of his contemporaries associated manliness with Anglo-Saxon superiority.

    Academic text (2001)
  • Miners' style and assertions of manliness laid claim to a middle-class norm of respectability and status.

    Academic text (1996)
  • The virility of the martyr highlights personal heroism and manliness, while the technology of war signifies death and defeat.

    Academic text (1997)
  • His manliness was evident in the way he stood up for his friends during the argument.

Synonyms

manhood
vsmanliness
79 3.3

A person who is an adult male and who shows courage or strength

is concentrated on traits rather than legal adulthood or age
masculinity
vsmanliness
43 4.1

Qualities and behaviors people associate with being a man

is more about the general social ideal of male traits
virility
vsmanliness
9 7.6

A quality of physical strength, energy, and sexual power often linked to men

is broader covering courage and assertiveness beyond sexual strength
manness
vsmanliness
  • Archaic
1 8.9

The traditional qualities and social identity of being male

is about personal qualities rather than the social status of adulthood
manfulness
vsmanliness
  • Archaic
8.6

A quality of bravery and strength that people expect from adult men

is the broader set of traditional male traits including these virtues
guylike demeanor
vsmanliness
8.8

A way of behaving or looking people think is typical of a man

is about inner qualities and virtues rather than just looks or behavior

Antonyms

1 4.9

The quality of being gentle, caring, and graceful often linked to females

Compounds

Good qualities like honesty, courage, and respect that show a man treats others well

How Manly

machismo
9 7.7
virility
9 7.6
manliness
8 4.4
timidity
7 5.8

Surface Forms

manliness singular
manlinesses plural

Morphology

manliness = manly (transparent) = man + ly + ness

Formed by clear adjective + nominalizing suffix '-ness' (manly → manliness); 'manly' itself is transparently man + '-ly'.

Etymology

The word manliness comes from man, an old English word for 'an adult male', and the ending -ness, which means 'state' or 'quality'. So manliness is literally the 'state of being a man', which is why it is used for strength, courage, and other similar qualities.