VIRILE

male, manful, manlike, manly, virile

(adjective) characteristic of a man; “a deep male voice”; “manly sports”

potent, virile

(adjective) (of a male) capable of copulation

virile

(adjective) characterized by energy and vigor; “a virile and ever stronger free society”; “a new and virile leadership”

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Adjective

virile (comparative more virile, superlative most virile)

Being manly; having characteristics associated with being male, such as strength; exhibiting masculine traits to an exaggerated degree such as strength, forcefulness or vigor.

(physiology, of a male) Possessing high sexual drive and capacity for sexual intercourse.

(grammar) Pertaining to a grammatical gender used in plurals of some Slavic languages, corresponding to the personal masculine animate nouns.

Antonyms

• nonvirile

• muliebrile

• muliebral

Source: Wiktionary


Vi"rile, a. Etym: [L. virilis, fr. vir a man; akin to AS. wer: cf. F. viril. See Werewolf, World, and cf. Decemvir, Virago, Virtue.]

Definition: Having the nature, properties, or qualities, of an adult man; characteristic of developed manhood; hence, masterful; forceful; specifically, capable of begetting; -- opposed to womanly, feminine, and puerile; as, virile age, virile power, virile organs.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

27 May 2025

DIRECTIONALITY

(noun) the property of being directional or maintaining a direction; “the directionality of written English is from left to right”


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Coffee Trivia

The expression “coffee break” was first attested in 1952 in glossy magazine advertisements by the Pan-American Coffee Bureau.

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