51Թ

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View synonyms for

effeminate

[ adjective ih-fem-uh-nit; verb ih-fem-uh-neyt ]

adjective

  1. (of a man or boy) having traits, tastes, habits, etc., traditionally considered feminine, as softness or delicacy.
  2. characterized by excessive softness, delicacy, self-indulgence, etc.:

    effeminate luxury.



verb (used with or without object)

effeminated, effeminating.
  1. to make or become effeminate.

effeminate

/ ɪˈɛɪɪ /

adjective

  1. (of a man or boy) displaying characteristics regarded as typical of a woman; not manly
  2. lacking firmness or vigour

    an effeminate piece of writing

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Derived Forms

  • ˈڱ𳾾Բ, noun
  • ˈڱ𳾾Բٱ, adverb
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Other 51Թ Forms

  • ·ڱi·Բٱ· adverb
  • ·ڱi·Բٱ·Ա noun
  • ·ڱi·ԲtDz noun
  • ܲe·ڱi·Բٱ adjective
  • un·ڱi·Բٱ· adverb
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51Թ History and Origins

Origin of effeminate1

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English effeminat, from Latin ڴŧ-, past participle stem of ڴŧ “to make feminine,” equivalent to ef- ef- + ŧ() “woman” + - infinitive suffix
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51Թ History and Origins

Origin of effeminate1

C14: from Latin ڴŧ to make into a woman, from ŧԲ woman
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Synonym Study

See female.
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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

In fact, I think those gendered stereotypes — Americans as virile and manly; Europeans as emasculated or effeminate — go back much further than that, and were inhaled by nearly all American men of Trump’s generation.

From

This is the message that Ridley Scott chose for his movie: Rome has been taken over by a foppish, effeminate class of men in perfumed silks.

From

Refusing to develop the necessary people skills to get ahead because you think it's effeminate will keep you from moving ahead.

From

A typical if slightly effeminate adolescent Jewish boy, California version.

From

Depicting East Asian men as "effeminate rice eaters" was used as a justification for European colonial rule in Asia in the 1800s and for later stoking anti-immigrant sentiment in the U.S.

From

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