Basic Details
Word: Masculine
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Having qualities thought of as typical of men; in grammar, belonging to the male gender, as in a masculine noun.
Synonyms: male, manly
Antonyms: feminine
How to Spell Masculine
Syllables: mas - cu - line
Tricky part: After mas comes cu, not qu or ku, and the word ends in ine with an e.
Watch out for: masquline, masculin, maskuline
Memory tip: Muscle and masculine both put c right after s: mus-cle, mas-cu-line.
Usage Examples
Example 1: Some people think pink is not a masculine colour, but plenty of boys love it.
Example 2: Lion is the masculine form and lioness the feminine form.
Example 3: Some languages, such as French, give every noun a masculine or feminine gender.
Fun Fact
In Hindi every noun is masculine or feminine, even things: kitaab (book) is feminine and ghar (house) is masculine, and the verb changes to match.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Connection
Choose the word opposite in meaning to masculine as used in the sentence:
The old actor used a deep, masculine voice to play the king.
a) male
b) feminine
c) macho
d) manly
Show answer
b) feminine. Masculine and feminine are the pair used for male and female; manly, male and macho all lean the same way as masculine.
Word Cookie
Fill in the missing letters:
mas_ul_ne
a) c, i
b) q, i
c) c, e
d) k, i
Show answer
a) c, i. Think mas-cu-line: the c comes after s, and line has an i.
Spell-o-Spell
Only one word in the list is spelt correctly. Choose the meaning of that word.
1. pronoon 2. masculine 3. adjektive 4. plurel
a) more than one
b) a word used in place of a noun
c) belonging to the male gender in grammar
d) a word that describes a noun
Show answer
c) belonging to the male gender in grammar. Pronoun ends in noun, adjective has a c before the t, and plural ends in al, so the correct word is masculine.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which noun is masculine?
a) aunt
b) nephew
c) duchess
d) niece
Show answer
b) nephew
2. What is the feminine of the masculine noun 'tiger'?
a) tigeress
b) she-tiger
c) tigress
d) tigerina
Show answer
c) tigress
