as in male
of, relating to, or marked by qualities traditionally associated with men
men were once expected to be interested only in such virile activities as hunting
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Recent Examples of virile
And if the ecological action epic of 2022’s Avatar: The Way of Water allowed the flower child side to dominate the auteur’s inner grunt, now the macho warrior re-emerges, hungry and determined and surprisingly virile.
—
Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 16 Dec. 2025
Rather than prizing animals for their beauty, their virile traits or their straight-up cool characteristics, frogposting is all about vulnerable animals—the dweebs of the animal kingdom.
—Hazlitt, 3 Dec. 2025
All research seems to indicate that this back-to-back joke from 1985 was the lodestar for the meme of a socially inept teen feigning virile worldliness with a gal in America's northern neighbor country.
—Jordan Hoffman Updated, EW.com, 2 Aug. 2025
During his campaign for reelection in 2024, Trump, who turns 79 in June, sold digital trading cards that featured virile depictions of himself as a cowboy, superhero and astronaut, among other images.
—Elizabeth Crisp, The Hill, 24 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for virile
Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 16 Dec. 2025
Rather than prizing animals for their beauty, their virile traits or their straight-up cool characteristics, frogposting is all about vulnerable animals—the dweebs of the animal kingdom.
—Hazlitt, 3 Dec. 2025
All research seems to indicate that this back-to-back joke from 1985 was the lodestar for the meme of a socially inept teen feigning virile worldliness with a gal in America's northern neighbor country.
—Jordan Hoffman Updated, EW.com, 2 Aug. 2025
During his campaign for reelection in 2024, Trump, who turns 79 in June, sold digital trading cards that featured virile depictions of himself as a cowboy, superhero and astronaut, among other images.
—Elizabeth Crisp, The Hill, 24 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for virile
Recent Examples of Synonyms for virile
Adjective
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The clip, only about 12 seconds long, which first surfaced on Reddit before being deleted and later reposted on X, shows several male fans seated in the upper deck performing what appears to be the gesture in unison.—
Sergio Candido,
CBS News,
2 Apr. 2026
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But the organ that senses those hormones is usually separate from the one that delivers the sperm; in male octopuses, the hectocotylus does both.—
Cody Cottier,
Scientific American,
2 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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By combining elements of traditional masculine dressing with the traditionally feminine ballet flat, brands are participating in the trend without alienating shoppers.—
Jack Stanley,
Vogue,
31 Mar. 2026
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Krapp is a farce of masculine pride, chronic bachelorhood, and, ultimately, intense loneliness; Transcription is a farce of responsibility and overwhelming attachment.—
Hannah Gold,
Harpers Magazine,
24 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Virile.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/virile. Accessed 6 Apr. 2026.
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