Definition

1. Verb (transitive):
   • To cause (a female or a prepubescent male) to develop male secondary sexual characteristics. This is typically the result of a hormonal imbalance, a medical condition, or the administration of androgenic (male) hormones.

Usage

The verb "virilise" describes an action where an external agent (like a drug, a disease, or a hormone) induces physical changes associated with masculinity. It is primarily used in medical, biological, and endocrinological contexts. The subject of the sentence is the cause, and the object is the person or organism being affected.

Examples

• The excessive androgen production from the tumor began to virilise the young woman.
• Certain congenital adrenal hyperplasia conditions can virilise female infants.
• The endocrinologist explained how the prescribed steroid could potentially virilise a patient if the dosage was not carefully monitored.

Advanced Usage

• The process or result of this action can be described as virilisation (noun).
  • The patient presented with signs of virilisation, including a deepened voice and facial hair growth.
• The adjective virilising is used to describe an agent that causes this effect.
  • They identified a virilising tumor on the adrenal gland.

Variants and Related Words

• Virilize: The preferred spelling in American English.
• Virilisation/Virilization: The noun form denoting the process or condition.
• Masculinise/Masculinize: A very close synonym, often used interchangeably in medical contexts, though "virilise" is more specific to the development of secondary sexual characteristics.
• Androgenise/Androgenize: A more technical term specifying the cause as androgens (male hormones).

Synonyms

• Masculinise
• Androgenise (technical)

Antonyms

• Feminise
• Demasculinise

Verb

1. produce virilism in or cause to assume masculine characteristics, as through a hormonal imbalance or hormone therapy
   • the drugs masculinized the teenage girl