Adjacent Words

Effeminate definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

EFFEM'INATE, a. [L. effoeminatus, from effoeminor, to grow or make womanish, from foemina, a woman. See Woman.]
1. Having the qualities of the female sex; soft or delicate to an unmanly degree; tender; womanish; voluptuous.
The king, by his voluptuous life and mean marriage, became effeminate, and less sensible of honor.
2. Womanish; weak; resembling the practice or qualities of the sex; as an effeminate peace; an effeminate life.
3. Womanlike, tender, in a sense not reproachful.
EFFEM'INATE, v.t. To make womanish; to unman; to weaken; as to effeminate children.
EFFEM'INATE, v.i. To grow womanish or weak; to melt into weakness.
In a slothful peace courage will effeminate.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: having unsuitable feminine qualities [syn: effeminate, emasculate, epicene, cissy, sissified, sissyish, sissy]

Merriam Webster's

I. adjective Etymology: Middle English, from Latin effeminatus, from past participle of effeminare to make effeminate, from ex- + femina woman — more at feminine Date: 15th century 1. having feminine qualities untypical of a man ; not manly in appearance or manner 2. marked by an unbecoming delicacy or overrefinement <effeminate art> <an effeminate civilization> II. noun Date: 1597 an effeminate person

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj. (of a man) feminine in appearance or manner; unmasculine. Derivatives: effeminacy n. effeminately adv. Etymology: ME f. L effeminatus past part. of effeminare (as EX-(1), femina woman)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Effeminate Ef*fem"i*nate, v. i. To grow womanish or weak. In a slothful peace both courage will effeminate and manners corrupt. --Pope.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Effeminate Ef*fem"i*nate, a. [L. effeminatus, p. p. of effeminare to make a woman of; ex out + femina a woman. See Feminine, a.] 1. Having some characteristic of a woman, as delicacy, luxuriousness, etc.; soft or delicate to an unmanly degree; womanish; weak. The king, by his voluptuous life and mean marriage, became effeminate, and less sensible of honor. --Bacon. An effeminate and unmanly foppery. --Bp. Hurd. 2. Womanlike; womanly; tender; -- in a good sense. Gentle, kind, effeminate remorse. --Shak. Note: Effeminate and womanish are generally used in a reproachful sense; feminine and womanly, applied to women, are epithets of propriety or commendation.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Effeminate Ef*fem"i*nate, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Effeminated; p. pr. & vb. n. Effeminating.] To make womanish; to make soft and delicate; to weaken. It will not corrupt or effeminate children's minds. --Locke.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

If you describe a man or boy as effeminate, you think he behaves, looks, or sounds like a woman or girl. ...a skinny, effeminate guy in lipstick and earrings... ? manly ADJ [disapproval]

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. a. [Said of men.] Womanish, feminine, timorous, unmanly. II. v. a. Unman, soften, emasculate, emolliate, make or render effeminate.

Moby Thesaurus

AC-DC, amphierotic, autoerotic, bent, bisexed, bisexual, breakable, brittle, butch, campy, cheap-jack, chicken, cobwebby, crumbly, dainty, delicate, delicately weak, deviant, flimsy, fragile, frail, frangible, gay, gimcrack, gimcracky, gossamery, homoerotic, homosexual, jerry, jerry-built, lesbian, light, lightweight, mannish, muliebrous, namby-pamby, old-womanish, papery, pasteboardy, perverted, prissy, puny, queer, sapphic, shattery, sissified, sissy, sissyish, sleazy, slight, soft, tacky, transvestite, tribadistic, unmanly, unsubstantial, weak, wispy, womanish, womanly