Standard Lemma guide

manhood

noun · 9 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /ˈmænhʊd/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -ænhʊd
  • CMU ARPABET: M AE1 N HH UH2 D Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

The state or condition of being a human being.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Examples

  • He feared the speedy decline of all manhood.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: humanity

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

The state or condition of being a man, as contrasted with being a boy, woman, girl, or nonbinary.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Examples

  • He was a strapping youth poised on the brink of manhood.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: adulthood

3

noun

Meaning 3

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.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Examples

  • (exclusively and universally: only synonymous in cases for which women are excluded, and when the meaning of manhood is universal or worldwide)
  • 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.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: mankind

Antonyms: womanhood, womankind

4

noun

Meaning 4

The idealized nature of a man: all of the characteristics traditionally and ideally ascribed to manliness regarded collectively.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Examples

  • My goodness, James certainly is a prime example of manhood, isn't he?
  • 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.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: manfulness, manliness, mannishness

Antonyms: womanhood, womanishness, womanliness

5

noun

Meaning 5

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.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Examples

  • The failure of William's business seems to have been quite damaging to his manhood.
  • I feel that when you boss me around, you insult my manhood.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: womanhood

6

noun

Meaning 6

The male genitalia, especially the penis.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, euphemistic, uncountable

Examples

  • She spied on him in the shower and glimpsed his manhood.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: womanhood

Broader terms: junk

7

noun

Meaning 7

the status of being a man

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: position, post, berth, office, spot, billet, place, situation

8

noun

Meaning 8

the quality of being human

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • he feared the speedy decline of all manhood

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: humanness, humanity

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: quality

9

noun

Meaning 9

the state of being a man; manly qualities

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: adulthood

History

Etymology

From Middle English manhode, also manhede (> obsolete English manhead), equivalent to man + -hood. Cognate with Middle Dutch manheit (“manhood”), Middle Low German manheit (whence German Low German Mannheit (“manhood”)), German Mannheit (“manhood”).

Across languages

Translations

121 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: човечност (čovečnost) — state of being human
  • Czech: lidství — state of being human
  • Finnish: ihmisyys — state of being human
  • French: humanité — state of being human
  • Galician: humanidade — state of being human
  • Georgian: კაცობა (ḳacoba) — state of being human
  • Georgian: ადამიანობა (adamianoba) — state of being human
  • German: Menschentum — state of being human
  • German: Menschsein — state of being human
  • German: Menschheit — state of being human
  • Hebrew: אֱנוֹשׁוּת (enoshút) — state of being human
  • Macedonian: чо́вештво (čóveštvo) — state of being human
  • Russian: челове́чность (čelovéčnostʹ) — state of being human
  • Slovak: ľudstvo — state of being human
  • Spanish: humanidad — state of being human
  • Turkish: insanlık — state of being human
  • Turkish: insaniyet — state of being human
  • Zulu: ubuntu — state of being human
  • Arabic: رُجُولَة (rujūla) — state of being a man
  • Arabic: رُجْلَة (rujla) — state of being a man
  • Arabic: رُجْلِيَّة (rujliyya) — state of being a man
  • Arabic: رجلة (rujla) — state of being a man
  • Arabic: رجولة (rujūla) — state of being a man
  • Bengali: মরদামি (mordami) — state of being a man
  • Central Bikol: pagkalalaki — state of being a man
  • Bulgarian: пълнолетие (pǎlnoletie) — state of being a man
  • Catalan: masculinitat — state of being a man
  • Catalan: virilitat — state of being a man
  • Cebuano: pagkalalaki — state of being a man
  • Czech: mužství — state of being a man
  • Finnish: miehuus — state of being a man
  • French: virilité — state of being a man
  • Galician: virilidade — state of being a man
  • Georgian: კაცურობა (ḳacuroba) — state of being a man
  • German: Männlichkeit — state of being a man
  • German: Mannsein — state of being a man
  • Greek: ανδρισμός (andrismós) — state of being a man
  • Irish: fearúlacht — state of being a man
  • Italian: mascolinità — state of being a man
  • Macedonian: ма́шкост (máškost) — state of being a man
  • Māori: tānetanga — state of being a man
  • Norwegian Bokmål: manndom — state of being a man
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: manndom — state of being a man
  • Polish: męskość — state of being a man
  • Portuguese: virilidade — state of being a man
  • Russian: му́жественность (múžestvennostʹ) — state of being a man
  • Slovak: mužskosť — state of being a man
  • Spanish: virilidad — state of being a man
  • Spanish: masculinidad — state of being a man
  • Spanish: hombría — state of being a man
  • Tagalog: pagkalalaki — state of being a man
  • Tausug: pagkausug — state of being a man
  • Turkish: erkeklik — state of being a man
  • Zulu: ubudoda — state of being a man
  • Central Bikol: kalalakihan — men as a group
  • Finnish: miehet — men as a group
  • Finnish: miesväki — men as a group
  • Georgian: კაცები (ḳacebi) — men as a group
  • Georgian: მამრობითი სქესი (mamrobiti skesi) — men as a group
  • Georgian: ძლიერი სქესი (ʒlieri skesi) — men as a group
  • Ingrian: meesrahvas — men as a group
  • Ingrian: meessuku — men as a group
  • Macedonian: ма́жи (máži) — men as a group
  • Macedonian: ма́шки пол (máški pol) — men as a group
  • Russian: мужско́й пол (mužskój pol) — men as a group
  • Russian: мужчи́ны (mužčíny) — men as a group
  • Slovak: muži — men as a group
  • Spanish: masculinidad — men as a group
  • Tagalog: kalalakihan — men as a group
  • Zulu: amadoda — men as a group
  • Zulu: isilisa — men as a group
  • Bengali: মরদামি (mordami) — qualities ideally ascribed to manliness
  • Bulgarian: мъжественост (mǎžestvenost) — qualities ideally ascribed to manliness
  • Czech: mužnost — qualities ideally ascribed to manliness
  • Finnish: miehekkyys — qualities ideally ascribed to manliness
  • French: masculinité — qualities ideally ascribed to manliness
  • French: virilité — qualities ideally ascribed to manliness
  • Galician: masculinidade — qualities ideally ascribed to manliness
  • Georgian: კაცურობა (ḳacuroba) — qualities ideally ascribed to manliness
  • Georgian: მამაკაცურობა (mamaḳacuroba) — qualities ideally ascribed to manliness
  • Greek: ανδρισμός (andrismós) — qualities ideally ascribed to manliness
  • Greek: αρρενωπότητα (arrenopótita) — qualities ideally ascribed to manliness
  • Hebrew: גַּבְרִיּוּת (gavriyút) — qualities ideally ascribed to manliness
  • Macedonian: маже́ственост (mažéstvenost) — qualities ideally ascribed to manliness
  • Russian: му́жественность (múžestvennostʹ) — qualities ideally ascribed to manliness
  • Russian: му́жество (múžestvo) — qualities ideally ascribed to manliness
  • Slovak: mužnosť — qualities ideally ascribed to manliness
  • Spanish: virilidad — qualities ideally ascribed to manliness
  • Spanish: masculinidad — qualities ideally ascribed to manliness
  • Turkish: erkeklik — qualities ideally ascribed to manliness
  • Zulu: ubudoda — qualities ideally ascribed to manliness
  • Finnish: miehuus — self-concept of a man
  • Finnish: mieheys — self-concept of a man
  • Macedonian: маже́ственост (mažéstvenost) — self-concept of a man
  • Spanish: hombría — self-concept of a man
  • Central Bikol: pagkalalaki — euphemism of male genitalia
  • Bulgarian: пакет (paket) — euphemism of male genitalia
  • Cebuano: pagkalalaki — euphemism of male genitalia
  • Chinese: lān-tsiàu — euphemism of male genitalia
  • Czech: mužství — euphemism of male genitalia
  • Finnish: miehuus — euphemism of male genitalia
  • German: Männlichkeit — euphemism of male genitalia
  • German: Gemächte — euphemism of male genitalia
  • Greek: ανδρισμός (andrismós) — euphemism of male genitalia
  • Hebrew: זַכְרוּת (zachrút) — euphemism of male genitalia
  • Hungarian: férfiasság — euphemism of male genitalia
  • Irish: ball fearga — euphemism of male genitalia
  • Macedonian: ма́шки по́лов о́рган (máški pólov órgan) — euphemism of male genitalia
  • Norwegian Bokmål: manndom — euphemism of male genitalia
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: manndom — euphemism of male genitalia
  • Polish: męskość — euphemism of male genitalia
  • Russian: мужски́е половы́е о́рганы (mužskíje polovýje órgany) — euphemism of male genitalia
  • Russian: мужски́е генита́лии (mužskíje genitálii) — euphemism of male genitalia
  • Russian: мужско́е досто́инство (mužskóje dostóinstvo) — euphemism of male genitalia
  • Slovak: mužnosť — euphemism of male genitalia
  • Spanish: virilidad — euphemism of male genitalia
  • Spanish: masculinidad — euphemism of male genitalia
  • Tagalog: pagkalalaki — euphemism of male genitalia
  • Turkish: erkeklik — euphemism of male genitalia
  • Turkish: erkeklik organı — euphemism of male genitalia
  • Zulu: umthondo — euphemism of male genitalia