Adjective
He wasn't manly enough to fight.
He has a deep, manly voice.
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Adjective
Movies don't get more manly than Predator, which is positively brimming with bulging muscles, oneupmanship, relentless s— talk, chainguns, and some of Schwarzenegger's silliest one-liners since Commando.—Randall Colburn, EW.com, 7 Mar. 2025 And women who tried to build muscle were seen as manly or unnatural.—Danielle Friedman, New York Times, 15 Jan. 2025 A lot of people think that’s manly.—Marc Malkin, Variety, 15 Oct. 2024 Cold War worriers envisaged manly, stiff-jawed computers ordering the launch of nuclear missiles or refusing to open the pod-bay doors.—Jill Lepore, The New Yorker, 30 Sep. 2024 See All Example Sentences for manly
Word History
Etymology
Adverb
Middle English manli "befitting a man, bravely, resolutely, courteously," going back to Old English manliche, from manman entry 1 + -liche-ly entry 2
Adjective
Middle English manli "human, male, brave, resolute, noble," from manman entry 1 + -li-ly entry 1
First Known Use
Adverb
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above
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