Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A strong or exaggerated sense of traditional masculinity placing great value on physical courage, virility, domination of women, and aggressiveness.
  • noun An exaggerated interest or devotion to something, often accompanied by a sense of superiority.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun A strong, and by some considered exaggerated, sense of manly pride, associated with an attitude that the proper expression of masculinity includes virility, courage, and an entitlement to dominate, especially over women.
  • noun An exaggerated sense of power entitling one to dominate others.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun exaggerated masculinity

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun exaggerated masculinity

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Spanish, from macho, male; see macho.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

First attested 1940, from American Spanish machismo, from Spanish macho ("male"), + suffix -ismo ("-ism").

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Examples

  • Though it’s understandable how a culture that invented the term machismo might be uncomfortable lionizing a gay icon, it’s ironic that Morrissey has now been adopted by two diametrically opposed subcultures.

    Chuck Klosterman on Pop Chuck Klosterman 2009

  • Though it’s understandable how a culture that invented the term machismo might be uncomfortable lionizing a gay icon, it’s ironic that Morrissey has now been adopted by two diametrically opposed subcultures.

    Chuck Klosterman on Pop Chuck Klosterman 2009

  • Though it’s understandable how a culture that invented the term machismo might be uncomfortable lionizing a gay icon, it’s ironic that Morrissey has now been adopted by two diametrically opposed subcultures.

    Chuck Klosterman on Pop Chuck Klosterman 2009

  • Though it’s understandable how a culture that invented the term machismo might be uncomfortable lionizing a gay icon, it’s ironic that Morrissey has now been adopted by two diametrically opposed subcultures.

    Viva Morrissey! Chuck Klosterman 2007

  • However, with isolated exceptions, Mexico has been a male-dominated society for a long time, and the spirit of machismo is still very strong in many parts of the country.

    Female quality of life in Mexico (Geo-Mexico extract) 2010

  • That they manage to portray their pearl-clutching and feinting as machismo is a miracle of public relations and media manipulation.

    Matthew Yglesias » Mitch McConnell vs the FBI 2010

  • We all need a wake up call sometimes, and too many college guys just need to wake up to the fact that their machismo is immature, unappreciated, more than unattractive.

    The Male Gaze-Definitely Not Hot. 2009

  • I know there are some people to whom machismo is a turn-on, but if they have any sense, they'll save it for their personal ads and keep it out of the foreign policy of the United States.

    No Mas Macho 2009

  • However, with isolated exceptions, Mexico has been a male-dominated society for a long time, and the spirit of machismo is still very strong in many parts of the country.

    Female quality of life in Mexico (Geo-Mexico extract) 2010

  • The whiny voice and convoluted over-estimation of his own machismo is now dead to me.

    SEXMAN REVIEWS ‘SEMI PRO’ 2008

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