virile

V4I1R1I1L1E1
/ˈvɪɹ.əl//ˈvɪɹˌaɪl/

adjective

Manly; having characteristics associated with being male, such as strength; exhibiting masculine traits to an exaggerated degree such as strength, forcefulness or vigor.

Similar
strongmalemanfulmanlikemanlymasculinepotent
Opposite
nonvirile
OriginMiddle French viril ← Latin virīlis →
UncommonScrabble 9
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Meanings

adjectivevirile (comparative more virile, superlative most virile)

comparative more virile · superlative most virile

  1. Manly; having characteristics associated with being male, such as strength; exhibiting masculine traits to an exaggerated degree such as strength, forcefulness or vigor.
  2. medicinePossessing high sexual drive and capacity for sexual intercourse.
  3. grammarPertaining to a grammatical gender used in plurals of some Slavic languages, corresponding to the personal masculine animate nouns.

Synonyms & antonyms

Opposite
nonvirile

adjectivecharacterized by energy and vigor

Similar
strong

adjectivecharacteristic of a man

Similar
malemanfulmanlikemanlymasculine

adjective(of a male) capable of copulation

Similar
potent
Also see
malemanfulmanlikemanlymasculinepotentpriapicred-bloodedstrapping

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Latinvirīlis
  2. Middle Frenchviril
  3. Englishvirile

From Middle French viril, from Latin virīlis, from vir (“man”, “male human”) + -īlis (suffix forming adjectives from nouns).

More words from Middle French, Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian мъжествен
  • мъжествен (măžestven)being manly
Catalan viril, masculí
  • virilbeing manly
  • masculíbeing manly
Chinese Mandarin 陽剛 /阳刚
  • 陽剛 /阳刚 (yánggāng)being manly
Czech mužský
  • mužskýbeing manly
Dutch viriel, mannelijk
  • virielbeing manly
  • mannelijkbeing manly
Finnish miehekäs, miehuullinen
  • miehekäsbeing manly
  • miehuullinenbeing manly
  • viriilibeing manly
French viril
  • virilbeing manly
German männlich, maskulin
  • männlichbeing manly
  • maskulinbeing manly
  • virilbeing manly
  • Personalmaskulinumpertaining to the grammatical gender
Hungarian férfias, hímnemű
  • férfiasbeing manly
  • hímneműpertaining to the grammatical gender
Irish fearúil, fearga
  • fearúilbeing manly
  • feargabeing manly
  • fireannbeing manly
  • mascalachbeing manly
Latin virilis
  • virilisbeing manly
Lithuanian vyriškas
  • vyriškasbeing manly
Polish męski, męskoosobowy
  • męskibeing manly
  • męskoosobowypertaining to the grammatical gender
Portuguese viril
  • virilbeing manly
Romanian viril
  • virilbeing manly
Russian му́жественный, мужско́й
  • му́жественный (múžestvennyj)being manly
  • мужско́й (mužskój)being manly
  • вири́льный (virílʹnyj)being manly
  • мужско́й (mužskój)pertaining to the grammatical gender
Spanish viril
  • virilbeing manly
Swedish viril, manlig
  • virilbeing manly
  • manligbeing manly
Turkish erkeksi, maskulen
  • erkeksibeing manly
  • maskulenbeing manly
Ukrainian му́жній, чоловічий
  • му́жній (múžnij)being manly
  • чоловічий (čolovičyj)pertaining to the grammatical gender

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with virile

filewhilestylemilechilesmileisletilecompilekylepileNilevolatileCarlisleworthwhileawhileaisleLylereptilebileargyllguileCarlyleargyle
All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

virile. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/virile

MLA

“virile.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/virile. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “virile,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/virile.

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