machismo

M3A1C3H4I1S1M3O1
US/mɑːˈt͡ʃiz.moʊ/US/məˈt͡ʃiz.moʊ/UK/mæˈt͡ʃɪz.məʊ/UK/məˈkɪz.məʊ/

noun

An excessive masculine pride, exaggerated masculinity.

Meanings

nounmachismo (usually uncountable, plural machismos)

plural machismos

  1. informaluncountableusuallyAn excessive masculine pride, exaggerated masculinity.

    The tragedy of machismo is that a man is never quite man enough.

    1971 September 28, Germaine Greer, “My Mailer Problem”, in Esquire
    1 more example

    With machismo, Christian nationalism and callousness toward the lives of US troops, they say, Hegseth’s puerile displays on TV are aimed at sating Trump’s desire for a warmonger worthy of the manosphere.

    2026 March 8, David Smith, “‘A very dangerous person’: alarm as Pete Hegseth revels in carnage of Iran war”, in The Guardian, →ISSN
  2. uncountableusuallyLatin AmericanMale chauvinism, misogyny.

    PSP [Puerto Rican Socialist Party] spokesperson Victor Lopez-Tosado told GCN: "[…] The party is mainly organized in a Latin American country where oppression, as a result of machismo, etc., to homosexuals is very common."

    1979 April 7, Rebecca Chase, “PSP Supports Gay Rights”, in Gay Community News, page 1
    1 more example

    The Dominican Republic is traditionally regarded as a patriarchal island brimming with machismo — where, indeed, a recent U.S. ambassador was publicly vilified for bringing his husband to his posting. It was, and is, an unlikely place to find an enclave of acceptance. So what explains this unique tolerance?

    2017, Sarah A. Topol, “Sons and Daughters”, in Harper's Magazine

Synonyms & antonyms

Origin

  1. Spanishmacho“male”
  2. Spanishmachismo
  3. Englishmachismo

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

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Basque matxismo
  • matxismoexaggerated masculinity
Catalan masclisme
  • masclismeexaggerated masculinity
Chinese Mandarin 大男子主義 /大男子主义
  • 大男子主義 /大男子主义 (dànánzǐzhǔyì)exaggerated masculinity
Esperanto maĉismo
  • maĉismoexaggerated masculinity
Finnish miehevyys, machoilu
  • miehevyysexaggerated masculinity
  • machoiluexaggerated masculinity
French machisme
  • machismeexaggerated masculinity
German Machismo
  • Machismoexaggerated masculinity
Icelandic karlremba
  • karlrembaexaggerated masculinity
Italian machismo, maschilismo
  • machismoexaggerated masculinity
  • maschilismoexaggerated masculinity
  • gallismoexaggerated masculinity
Japanese マッチョ
  • マッチョexaggerated masculinity
Latin masculismus
  • masculismusexaggerated masculinity
Polish machismo
  • machismoexaggerated masculinity
Portuguese machismo
  • machismoexaggerated masculinity
Russian мачи́зм
  • мачи́зм (mačízm)exaggerated masculinity
Spanish machismo
  • machismoexaggerated masculinity
Tagalog matsismo
  • matsismoexaggerated masculinity

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

machismo. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/machismo

MLA

“machismo.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/machismo. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “machismo,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/machismo.

Source: machismo on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.