unmanly

adjective

un·​man·​ly ˌən-ˈman-lē How to pronounce unmanly (audio)
unmanlier; unmanliest
: not manly: such as
a
: being of weak character : cowardly
unmanliness noun

Examples of unmanly in a Sentence

He felt unmanly because he wasn't interested in sports. I disagree that dancing is an unmanly pursuit. My father told me that it's unmanly to cry.
Recent Examples on the Web In Benediction, Terence Davies had to split Siegfried Sassoon into two (Jack Lowden, Peter Capaldi) to create a comparably complex personality, but Scott’s Adam is all the more moving for being less refined, a performance of sustained fragility and unmanly truth. Armond White, National Review, 29 Dec. 2023 Why is his governess, Mrs. Brock, fired for encouraging Richard’s unmanly interest in poetry and music? Francine Prose, The New York Review of Books, 22 Nov. 2018 But the bunt-against-the-shift is the baseball equivalent of the unmanly underhand free throw. Scott Ostler, SFChronicle.com, 17 June 2018 Refusing her advances would be awkward, unmanly, gay. Peggy Orenstein, The Cut, 8 Mar. 2018

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'unmanly.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1534, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of unmanly was in 1534

Dictionary Entries Near unmanly

Cite this Entry

“Unmanly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unmanly. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.

Kids Definition

unmanly

adjective
un·​man·​ly ˌən-ˈman-lē How to pronounce unmanly (audio)
ˈən-
: not manly: as
a
: being of weak character : cowardly
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