Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. The quality or state of being virile; manly character.
- n. Masculine vigor; potency.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. Manhood; the state of one of the male sex who has arrived at the maturity and strength of a man, and acquired the power of procreation.
- n. The power of procreation.
- n. Character or conduct of man, or befitting a man; masculine action or aspect; hence, strength; vigor.
Wiktionary
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. The quality or state of being virile; developed manhood; manliness; specif., the power of procreation.
WordNet 3.0
- n. the masculine property of being capable of copulation and procreation
- n. the trait of being manly; having the characteristics of an adult male
Examples
“Though none of these experts agreed openly with Horkheimer's assertion that Monty's excessive masculinity indicated repressed homosexuality, their obsession with "virility" is very suggestive.”
Caught in the Crossfire: Adrian Scott and the Politics of Americanism in 1940s Hollywood
“I think virility is the last thing this guy needs ..”
“Guns are to some people an expression of virility ...”
“His virility was a potent force that left her weak.”
Heart Of Stone
“Man possesses few powers which are more highly prized than those of virility, which is the very essence of manhood.”
“Compared with some of its predecessors, the play shows a decided growth in what may be termed virility of mind: a wider scope, a higher reach,”
Shakespeare His Life Art And Characters
“Compared with some of its predecessors, the play shows a decided growth in what may be termed virility of mind: a wider scope, a higher reach, a firmer grasp, have been attained: the Poet has come to read”
“Perhaps your virility is a threat to me since my erections are not as firm as when I was twenty-five?”
“The potential homosexuality that they perceived in Samuels and Mitchell stands in sharp contrast to the "virility" they perceived in Monty.”
Caught in the Crossfire: Adrian Scott and the Politics of Americanism in 1940s Hollywood
“We refuse to admit such quaint things as "virility" as something inherently attractive because we've convinced ourselves that no one should connect sex to reproduction or reproduction to essential power.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘virility’.
-
indubitably09's list
Words that are fun to say out loud.
indubitably, exemplar, aberrant, viscosity, virility, fantastic, covert
bilby The high-pitched, tinny sound of this word isn't very manly. Oct 5, 2008