masculine and feminine
Both sex categories
Masculine and feminine are the two traditional gender categories applied to people, animals, and in many languages, to nouns and pronouns.
English retains grammatical gender mainly in pronouns: he/him for masculine, she/her for feminine.
Beyond grammar, masculine and feminine describe qualities culturally associated with men and women respectively—though these associations vary across time and place.
The decor had a masculine feel.
She rejected traditionally feminine roles.
- genderSocial identity category
- gender rolesExpected behaviors by sex
- maleSperm-producing sex
- alpha maleDominant group leader
- manlyTraditionally masculine in bearing
womanly · virile · soft · strong · soft boy · gentle · rugged · delicate · testosterone · estrogen · girl power · yin · yang · butch · femme · gender expression · macho · graceful
masculine and femininegenderless
Having no sex distinction
androgynous · neuter · sexless · neutral · nongendered
masculine and feminineunmarked
Having no visible identification
generic · universal · human · personhood · desexed
masculine, feminine, female, masculinity, femininity, masculinize, feminize, masculinized, feminized