Phallic

//ˈfælɪk// adj

adj ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    Relating to, or characteristic of the penis. not-comparable

    "A little later the phallic explanation of everything came into fashion. The deities were all polite names for the organs and powers of procreation."

  2. 2
    Shaped like an erect human penis. not-comparable

    "My mother has a very phallic salt shaker."

  3. 3
    Relating to or exhibiting masculine or patriarchal traits, seen metaphorically as seated in the male genitalia. not-comparable

    "Opposing the war in El Salvador and opposing the phallic aggression everywhere."

Adjective
  1. 1
    resembling or being a phallus wordnet
  2. 2
    relating to a phallus especially as an embodiment of generative power wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
priapicgenitalithyphallicithyphallicovarianpenile

Example

More examples

"The stages of psychosexual development—oral, anal, phallic, latent, and genital—turn out to be one big Freudian slip, betraying severe anal retention on the part of the taxonomist."

Etymology

From phallus (“penis”) + -ic.

More for "phallic"

SynonymsSentencesPronunciationTranslate

Next best steps

Find stronger synonymsSee usage examplesCheck pronunciationBrowse writing guides

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.