castrato
Americannoun
-
castrati
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of castrato
1755–65; < Italian < Latin castrāt ( us ); see castrate
Vocabulary lists containing castrato
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:
Moreschi was not considered a great castrato, and his sound was not at all feminine.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
Broecker and his team created roughly 200 costumes for the episode, including a ruffled collar and breeches Grande wore to portray a traumatized castrato and a prosthetic bustline for her turn as Jennifer Coolidge.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 13, 2025
There are macho castrato roles — Handel’s Giulio Cesare or Teseo — but I don’t like them that much.
From New York Times ● May 27, 2022
It was only 100 years ago that the last castrato retired, after 30 years of service in the choir.
From The Guardian ● Dec. 29, 2016
The castrato whom they did engage was Carestini, who, though less celebrated, was at any rate a singularly artistic singer.
From Handel by Edward J. Dent
Countertenors, long seen as rough facsimiles of the castrati, have witnessed a resurgence since the 1950s.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
The book follows the story of two castrati who become successful opera singers in Venice and whose lives are intertwined.
From BBC ● Nov. 12, 2025
She has excelled in Baroque roles that veered from the mainstream, releasing recordings devoted to 19th century soprano Maria Malibran, castrati and composers Antonio Salieri and Agostino Steffani.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 7, 2023
In Vivaldi’s day, when castrati ruled the roost, the entire cast would have been male.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 11, 2023
The biggest stars of the day, paid outrageous fees and treated like royalty, were castrati.
From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
