castrate
Americanverb (used with object)
-
castrates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
castrated,
past participle, past
-
castrating
present participle
-
to remove the testes of; emasculate; geld.
-
to remove the ovaries of.
-
Psychology. to render impotent, literally or metaphorically, by psychological means, especially by threatening a person's masculinity or femininity.
-
to deprive of strength, power, or efficiency; weaken.
Without those ten new submarines, our navy will be castrated.
noun
verb
-
to remove the testicles of; emasculate; geld
-
to deprive of vigour, masculinity, etc
-
to remove the ovaries of; spay
-
to expurgate or censor (a book, play, etc)
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
castratesimple
-
castratessimple
-
have castratedperfect
-
has castratedperfect
-
am castratingprogressive
-
are castratingprogressive
-
is castratingprogressive
-
have been castratingperfect progressive
-
has been castratingperfect progressive
Past
-
castratedsimple
-
had castratedperfect
-
was castratingprogressive
-
were castratingprogressive
-
had been castratingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of castrate
First recorded in 1605–15; from Latin castrātus, past participle of castrāre “to geld,” equivalent to castr- “geld” + -ātus past participle suffix; see -ate 1
Explanation
To castrate a male animal is to surgically remove its testicles. A veterinarian castrates a male dog to ensure that it can't mate with a female and produce unwanted puppies. People often choose to castrate pets or farm animals to keep them from reproducing. Castrate is one of several words used to refer to this process; most pet owners prefer terms such as neuter or fix. Castrate comes from a Latin root, castrare, which means not just "to castrate," but also "to prune." The word has also come to mean "to take away strength."
Vocabulary lists containing castrate
Ender's Game
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
While the World Watched
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
“I said, ‘Ben, I’m going to tell you something: Keep this one ’cause you’ll never find another one who will castrate a calf and ride a motorcycle,’” Ms. Carson recalled.
From New York Times ● Oct. 15, 2021
The anxiety of influence can trigger hysterical pastiche or castrate an author’s creativity.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 28, 2020
But alongside these essential legal updates, Thorne has revealed a way to castrate it, to remove its power.
From The Guardian ● Jul. 7, 2019
“He said, ‘You know how to castrate a zebra?’ and I said, ‘Well, I never have but it looks like a striped horse to me.’
From Washington Times ● Oct. 21, 2018
What would a society of eunuchs achieve?—But of course they are not eunuchs, in somer, but rather more comparable to preadolescents: not castrate, but latent.
From "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K. Le Guin
She was also impressed with the opening scene, in which a rancher castrates a bull.
From New York Times ● Nov. 16, 2021
His wife, infinitely more resolute, castrates him verbally: “What, quite unmann’d in folly?”
From The Guardian ● Apr. 19, 2016
Cordyceps fungus, or the neuro-hijacking barnacle of crabs, Sacculina, who castrates the female crab and takes advantage of its parenting.
From Scientific American ● Jul. 27, 2013
At day six, the castrates are permanent transsexuals.
From Time Magazine Archive
In castrates there is an increase in the size and number of the cells of the anterior pituitary, again a compensation or substitution effect.
From The Glands Regulating Personality by Louis Berman M.D.
"He offered to be chemically castrated," said Marcia.
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026
He told the investor he saved money by buying cheaper but harder-to-handle male calves that haven’t been castrated and having his own team do it.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 7, 2026
Female hamadryas baboons given hormonal contraception lived 29 percent longer, while castrated males lived 19 percent longer.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 16, 2026
Still, many castrated household cats don’t like to share their space with others.
From Slate ● Jan. 18, 2024
A teenage boy bawling into the silence of an empty church—now that’s a pretty horrific sound, right up there with the moans of a freshly castrated hyena.
From "Anthem of a Reluctant Prophet" by Joanne Proulx
He describes his experience of castrating a hippo in the wild.
From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2022
The Squeal Award got its name from Ms. Ernst’s 2014 campaign video where she said she grew up on a farm castrating pigs, and vowed to make Washington’s big-spenders shriek the same way.
From Washington Times ● Jun. 29, 2022
“I bet Harriet Hageman ran around and, when they were castrating the cow, she was carrying the bucket,” Jacobson said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 27, 2022
Phil may act tough castrating a bull with his bare hands, but he becomes vulnerable when he and Peter share a few friendly, tender moments.
From Salon ● Mar. 26, 2022
A prison report said, “He does high grade work caring for stock, and is able to do such operations as opening of abscesses and castrating of animals.”
From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
