manhood

Plural: manhoods

Noun

• The state or period of being an adult male; masculine qualities.
• the state of being a man; manly qualities
• the quality of being human
  • "he feared the speedy decline of all manhood"
• the status of being a man
• The state or condition of being a human being.
• The state or condition of being a man, as contrasted with being a boy, woman, girl, or nonbinary.
• All of the men of a given place, area, or any human subgroup (ethnicity, nation, race, religion, family, work crew or ship's crew, etc.) regarded collectively.
• The idealized nature of a man: all of the characteristics traditionally and ideally ascribed to manliness regarded collectively.
• The self-concept of a man being with respect to his possession of the various qualities traditionally and ideally ascribed to manliness; a man's sense or view of himself as being more or less manly.
• The male genitalia, especially the penis.

Examples

• During the Second World War, Russia lost a great percentage of its young manhood, giving rise to a great wave of widowhood in the country.
• He feared the speedy decline of all manhood.
• He was a strapping youth poised on the brink of manhood.
• I feel that when you boss me around, you insult my manhood.
• My goodness, James certainly is a prime example of manhood, isn't he?
• Playing MANHOOD for big points requires a certain level of linguistic maturity and tile placement.
• She spied on him in the shower and glimpsed his manhood.
• The failure of William's business seems to have been quite damaging to his manhood.
• Traditionally, men sought to enhance the manhood of their young sons, so that they would become manly men, but in general, men no longer do so.

Synonyms

humanity, humanness, manfulness, mankind, manliness, mannishness

Antonyms

womanhood, womanishness, womankind, womanliness

Related Words

boyhood, childhood, girlhood