androgynous

American  

[an-droj-uh-nuhs] / ænˈdrɒdʒ ə nəs /

adjective

1. neither clearly masculine nor clearly feminine in appearance.

   Their new clothing collection is inspired by the androgynous look of many rock stars.

2. having an ambiguous gender or having both masculine and feminine gender characteristics.

3. possessing both male and female physical sex traits.

4. Botany. having staminate and pistillate flowers in the same inflorescence.

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androgynous British  

/ ænˈdrɒdʒɪnəs /

adjective

1. botany having male and female flowers in the same inflorescence, as cuckoo pint

2. having male and female characteristics; hermaphrodite

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androgynous Scientific  

/ ăn-drŏj′ə-nəs /

1. Having both female and male characteristics.

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Other Word Forms

• androgyny noun

Etymology

Origin of androgynous

First recorded in 1620–30; androgyne + -ous

Explanation

If you describe something as androgynous, you are saying that you can't classify it as strictly male or female. If you are looking for an androgynous name, for example, choose Pat. You can see the meaning of androgynous in its parts: In Greek, andros means "male" and gyn means "female." Someone who is androgynous has both male and female characteristics, and therefore may be mistaken for being a member of the opposite gender. Don't confuse androgynous with unisex, which describes objects or places used by both males and females, like a unisex restroom.

Example Sentences

The most difficult section, “Gendered Dialogues,” delves into Kahlo’s sometimes androgynous appearance and, more poignantly, her boundary-breaking works about her body and the pains of childbirth and miscarriage.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 1, 2026

It starts with the basics, including a name as clean and uncluttered as his profile, and Dean’s timeless, almost androgynous good looks.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 30, 2025

He’s an unabashed lover of hair metal, a throwback genre defined by its performers’ androgynous costumes that, in Peacemaker’s estimation, made them “real men, because they weren’t afraid to be women!”

From Salon • Aug. 28, 2025

Bowie, who died in 2016, created the Ziggy Stardust character - an androgynous, alien rock star - as a stage persona in 1972.

From BBC • Mar. 6, 2025

Tall, attractive, and androgynous, Regis didn’t talk to the press.

From "The 57 Bus" by Dashka Slater