manhood
/ˈmanhʊd
/noun [mass noun]
1The state or period of being a man rather than a child: boys in the process of growing to manhood...
- Two men - a boy who grows into early manhood and an old ascetic priest, the lama - are at the centre of the novel.
- His early manhood was partly devoted to using the second to overcome the first.
- All Laotian men are expected to become monks, usually in early manhood, before marriage.
Synonyms
maturity, sexual maturity, adulthood
1.1The qualities traditionally associated with men, such as courage, strength, and sexual potency: we drank to prove our manhood...
- His is an elusive quest for self despite prescriptive notions of manhood and sexual identity.
- These sports serve to define dominant masculinity, connecting manhood with violence and competitiveness and often marginalising girls and women.
- Their coach questions everything from their heart to their courage to their brains to their manhood to their commitment.
Synonyms
virility, manliness, machismo, masculinity, maleness;
mettle, spirit, fortitude, resolution, determination, manfulness, bravery, courage, strength, intrepidity, valour, heroism, boldness
1.2The men of a country or society regarded collectively: Germany had lost the best of her young manhood...
- The names of the fallen - sometimes a family's entire fine crop of young manhood - feature on those war memorials and on the roll of honour in memorial halls.
1.3 (one's manhood) informal Used euphemistically to refer to a man’s penis: car worker Dave nearly lost his manhood on the production line...
- He kneed me from behind, getting the more sensitive part of my manhood.
2 archaic The condition of being human: the unity of Godhead and manhood in Christ