castrated

American  

[kas-trey-tid] / ˈkæs treɪ tɪd /

adjective

1. emasculated by having the testicles removed.

   Some castrated male cats will spray urine, but it is much more common in unneutered males.

2. deprived of strength, force, or effectiveness.

   She claims that the International Criminal Court is a castrated organization with no policing power.

3. Psychology. rendered impotent, literally or metaphorically, by psychological means, especially by having one’s masculinity or femininity threatened.

   The show is full of literally and figuratively castrated men, witless and robotic, while women drive the action.

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verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of castrate.

Other Word Forms

• uncastrated adjective

Etymology

Origin of castrated

castrate ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. )

Example Sentences

Female hamadryas baboons given hormonal contraception lived 29 percent longer, while castrated males lived 19 percent longer.

From Science Daily • Jan. 16, 2026

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 • Nov. 12, 2025

In their heyday, Handel’s operas almost always involved castrati, singers who were castrated as boys to preserve their higher voices but still gained the full lung capacity and overall stamina of grown men.

From New York Times • Jun. 4, 2024

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