feminize
/'feminaiz/ Cách viết khác : (feminise) /'feminaiz/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Verb (transitive):
- To cause something or someone to adopt or exhibit more feminine characteristics, qualities, or appearances.
- To make something more characteristic of or suited to women.
Verb (intransitive):
- To become more feminine in characteristics or appearance.
Usage
- Transitive verb: The action is done to an object.
- The new uniform policy was designed to feminize the workplace attire.
- Some argue that certain marketing strategies feminize products to appeal to a female audience.
- Intransitive verb: The subject undergoes the change.
- Over the decades, men's fashion has begun to feminize, incorporating softer lines and colors.
Examples
- Transitive use:
- The stylist used soft curls and pastel highlights to feminize the client's look.
- Hormones in the water supply can feminize male fish, affecting their reproductive organs.
- Intransitive use:
- Critics claimed that the prince's mannerisms had started to feminize after years at the court.*
Advanced Usage
- In Sociolinguistics: Refers to making language patterns or terms more aligned with or inclusive of women's speech or perspectives.
- The author's later works feminize the narrative by centering female protagonists' inner thoughts.
- In Biology/Environmental Science: Describes the process where male organisms develop female physiological traits, often due to endocrine disruptors.
- The study found that the chemical pollutant could feminize the entire amphibian population in the wetland.
Variants and Related Words
- Feminise: (verb) British English spelling variant of 'feminize'.
- Feminization (noun): The process or result of making or becoming feminine.
- The feminization of the nursing profession is a historical trend.
- Feminine (adjective): Having qualities or an appearance traditionally associated with women.
- Effeminize (verb, often pejorative): To make a man or his manners effeminate (unmanly or delicate in a way traditionally associated with women).
Synonyms
- To make feminine
- To womanize (in the specific sense of making something womanly, not in the sense of pursuing women)
- To soften (in certain contexts, e.g., appearance or tone)
Antonyms
- Masculinize: To give masculine characteristics to.
- Butch up (informal): To make more masculine in appearance or manner.
Related Phrases and Contexts
- "Feminized industry": An industry or profession that has become dominated by or associated with female workers.
- Teaching has undergone a feminization in many countries.
- "Feminized poverty": A concept describing the phenomenon that poverty disproportionately affects women.
- The report focused on strategies to combat feminized poverty.
Verb
- to give a (more) feminine, effeminate, or womanly quality or appearance to
- This hairdo feminizes the man
- assume (more) feminine characteristics
- feminized language
- feminized frogs