as in feminine
of or relating to a man who has or displays qualities traditionally considered more suitable for women
he had a high and somewhat effeminate voice
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Recent Examples of effeminate
The creative editing of the show, which had previously been broadcast uncensored on the platforms Sohu and iQiyi before the streaming agreements expired, comes as Chinese regulators ramp up their policing of media, including censoring LGBT content and banning depictions of effeminate men.
—
Washington Post, 12 Feb. 2022
She’d been bullied by kids in grade school and subjected to physical harm for being a boy who was, in their judgment, too effeminate.
—Jon Freeman, Rolling Stone, 8 Dec. 2022
American culture was brilliantly exposed — and neutered — through an effeminate homosexual artist’s application of drag.
—Los Angeles Times, 25 July 2022
From an early age, I was considered by other cisgender males of my age to be effeminate.
—Marc Jacobs, Vogue, 13 June 2022
See All Example Sentences for effeminate
Washington Post, 12 Feb. 2022
She’d been bullied by kids in grade school and subjected to physical harm for being a boy who was, in their judgment, too effeminate.
—Jon Freeman, Rolling Stone, 8 Dec. 2022
American culture was brilliantly exposed — and neutered — through an effeminate homosexual artist’s application of drag.
—Los Angeles Times, 25 July 2022
From an early age, I was considered by other cisgender males of my age to be effeminate.
—Marc Jacobs, Vogue, 13 June 2022
See All Example Sentences for effeminate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for effeminate
Adjective
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Move more freely this summer with the Desigual Capri Cargo Pants on, styling them with itty-bitty corset tops that mix something feminine into all that tomboyish edginess.—
Stacia Datskovska,
Footwear News,
21 July 2025
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While her brand takes its name from Greek mythology and reimagines sirens not as dangerous temptresses but as powerful feminine archetypes, the soul of Songs of Siren lies in India's textile heritage.—
Pooja Shah,
Forbes.com,
21 July 2025
Adjective
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In Benediction, Terence Davies had to split Siegfried Sassoon into two (Jack Lowden, Peter Capaldi) to create a comparably complex personality, but Scott’s Adam is all the more moving for being less refined, a performance of sustained fragility and unmanly truth.—
Armond White,
National Review,
29 Dec. 2023
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Why is his governess, Mrs. Brock, fired for encouraging Richard’s unmanly interest in poetry and music?—
Francine Prose,
The New York Review of Books,
22 Nov. 2018
Cite this Entry
“Effeminate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/effeminate. Accessed 5 Aug. 2025.
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