What does effeminise mean?
Effeminise is a transitive verb meaning to make a man, male animal, or masculine character appear feminine or less conventionally masculine. In modern use it often carries a disapproving or dated tone, particularly when describing efforts to soften a male image or portray a man in feminine terms. It should therefore be used carefully because it can reproduce the very stereotypes it names, and neutral alternatives are often preferable when discussing clothing, performance, or characterisation. An older, less common sense means to make someone weak, unmanly, or diminished in vigour. The word belongs to formal and literary English more often than everyday speech, with British spelling effeminise and American spelling effeminize. Its Latin ancestry is visible in related words such as feminine, femininity, and effeminate. Although it can describe a deliberate stylistic transformation, effeminise is rarely a neutral synonym for feminise, because its usual focus is specifically a male person, animal, or character and its connotations tend to be more loaded.
verbMake a man, male animal, or masculine character appear or become feminine or less masculine. In an older sense, make someone weak, unmanly, or diminished in vigour.
- Make a man, male animal, or masculine character appear or become feminine or less masculine.
- Make weak, unmanly, or diminished in vigour; enervate.
"The designer used flowing fabrics and soft colours to effeminise the otherwise severe silhouette."
"The designer used flowing fabrics and soft colours to effeminise the otherwise severe silhouette."
"Several reviewers objected to the adaptation's decision to effeminise its traditionally masculine hero."
From a Latin formation built on femina, meaning “woman”, effeminise carries the charge of making masculinity itself seem out of fashion.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of effeminise
The English verb was formed on the adjective effeminate using the -ise suffix. The effemin- family comes ultimately from Latin, where the formation was based on femina, meaning “woman”. Related English words such as feminine, femininity, effeminate, and effeminacy descend from this same Latin root.
Related word forms
How effeminise is actually used
Relatively formal and often disapproving, especially when describing a man, male character, or conventional masculinity. The term can reproduce the stereotypes it names, so neutral wording is often preferable in modern discussion. The US spelling is generally effeminize.
Easily confused with effeminise
Feminise is the broader and often more neutral term, whereas effeminise usually focuses specifically on making a male person, animal, or character seem feminine and frequently carries a disapproving connotation.