castrate

American  

[kas-treyt] / ˈkæs treɪt /

verb (used with object)

castrated, castrating

1. to remove the testes of; emasculate; geld.

2. to remove the ovaries of.

3. Psychology.  to render impotent, literally or metaphorically, by psychological means, especially by threatening a person's masculinity or femininity.

4. to deprive of strength, power, or efficiency; weaken.

   Without those ten new submarines, our navy will be castrated.

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noun

1. a castrated person or animal.

castrate British  

/ kæˈstreɪt /

verb

1. to remove the testicles of; emasculate; geld

2. to deprive of vigour, masculinity, etc

3. to remove the ovaries of; spay

4. to expurgate or censor (a book, play, etc)

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Other Word Forms

• castration noun
• castrator noun

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; -ate ¹

Example Sentences

It will be adapted from Anne Rice's 1982 novel, which is set in the 18th Century world of the "castrati" - male singing stars who were castrated to preserve their high voices.

From BBC

Another contract would provide funding to DonkeyLand to castrate 100 donkeys within a year.

From Los Angeles Times

"They would strip us naked. They would Taser us. They would hit us in a sensitive place. They would tell us 'We will castrate you'," he said.

From BBC

"Life just feels grey. It's, like, castrated my emotions," Kyle says.

From BBC

Trump was symbolically castrated before an audience of tens of millions of people by Harris when she defeated him during their first debate in September.

From Salon

Related Words

• mutilate
• neuter
• spay
• sterilize