Virility
What it means
Robust strength, energy, and physical vitality.
Reach for it when discussing the traditional association of masculinity with vigor or sexual potency
The stallion's remarkable virility remained evident well into maturity.
Words to choose between 5
| warm | |
|---|---|
| professional | |
| formal |
|
| literary |
-
warm
Fits when energetic aliveness deserves praise
Careful Vitality is broader and not gendered.
-
professional
masculinity
Fits when socially coded male qualities are being analyzed
Careful Masculinity does not equal health or fertility.
-
professional
Fits when lively strength is the relevant quality
Careful Vigor avoids the gender and fertility claim.
-
formal
potency
Fits when sexual or generative power is specifically at issue
Careful Potency can concern drugs, influence, or force.
-
literary
manhood
Fits when adult male identity is the subject
Careful Manhood is an identity or life stage, not a physical capacity.
Opposites 3
- impotence
- frailty
- enervation
Common phrases 3
-
symbol of virility
The bull served as a traditional symbol of virility.
-
youthful virility
The portrait exaggerates youthful virility through posture and scale.
-
ideas of virility
The course examines how ideas of virility changed across centuries.
Word family 1
Usage notes
Keep in mind
Virility can stigmatize disability, infertility, aging, and gender variance; name the actual quality whenever possible.
Definitions and examples are written for this site. How words are chosen Recording: Vealhurl, Southern England accent, from Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 Updated