as in masculine
having qualities or traits that are traditionally considered inappropriate for a girl or woman
her father thought that ice hockey was a little too tomboyish for her, but her mother and older brother encouraged her to take it up
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of tomboyish
But yesterday, Rihanna did a sartorial 180, ditching her tomboyish ’fit for a girly, baby pink look.
—
Hannah Jackson, Vogue, 5 Sep. 2025
Jacobson lends her voice to Shira Schwooper, the tomboyish middle child and only daughter.
—Allison Degrushe Published, EW.com, 22 Aug. 2025
Hannah Jackson, Vogue, 5 Sep. 2025
Jacobson lends her voice to Shira Schwooper, the tomboyish middle child and only daughter.
—Allison Degrushe Published, EW.com, 22 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tomboyish
Adjective
-
For example, data from January 2024 showed that 37% of users had typically feminine names, among users with names that could be read as either masculine or feminine.—
Dylan Butts,Shreya Ghosal,
CNBC,
17 Sep. 2025
-
Fittingly for that show, Cooper’s acceptance speech aimed to shut down toxic masculine ideas about shame and just trying some stuff out.—
Bethy Squires,
Vulture,
15 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
That would have been unladylike.—
Lucy Worsley
September 16,
Literary Hub,
16 Sep. 2025
-
The new girl’s unladylike bravado ensures that she will be asked to board with the Brown girl.—
Chris Bohjalian,
Washington Post,
17 Aug. 2023
Adjective
-
Dior’s collection referenced the H-line created by its founder Christian Dior for Fall-Winter 1954-1955 – a controversial silhouette at the time as its flattened shape appeared, for some, unfeminine.—
Alice Pfeiffer,
CNN,
28 Jan. 2025
-
The intention behind this final postcard may have been, yet again, to paint the fight for suffrage as absurd, to make suffragists seem like willful, unfeminine animals.—
Natalie Kinkade,
JSTOR Daily,
25 Sep. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Tomboyish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tomboyish. Accessed 21 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share