castrate

[kas-treyt]

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verb (used with object), cas·trat·ed, cas·trat·ing.

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

a castrated person or animal.

Origin of castrate

1605–15; < Latin castrātus past participle of castrāre to geld, equivalent to castr- geld + -ātus -ate¹

Related formscas·tra·tion, nouncas·tra·tor, nounun·cas·trat·ed, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for castrated

emasculate, altered, fixed, unmanned, effeminate, impotent

Examples from the Web for castrated

Contemporary Examples of castrated

Thus, during Jim Crow, black men were routinely hanged, castrated, and lynched for alleged sexual assaults against white women.
No Wonder Cosby's Keeping Quiet: He Could Still Be Prosecuted
Jay Michaelson
November 23, 2014
Franco plays Benjy, the mentally handicapped—and eventually, castrated—member of the Compson clan.
James Franco and Scott Haze on 'The Sound and the Fury' and Gawker 'Outing' Them As A 'Couple'
Marlow Stern
September 6, 2014
In one sickening final detail, Joe Christmas is castrated even before he is dead, his blood soaking his attackers.
C.E. Morgan: ‘Light in August’ is Faulkner’s Great American Novel
C.E. Morgan
August 16, 2012
How would she feel if Bizanowicz got a shorter term in return for agreeing to be castrated?
The Case for Castration
Tim Murphy
March 26, 2009

Historical Examples of castrated

How comes it that the editions since 1740 have been so castrated ?
Notes and Queries, Number 52, October 26, 1850
Various
If one of them be castrated when young, he will not develop as well as the other one.
Self Knowledge and Guide to Sex Instruction
T. W. Shannon
Whether or not the tenor is castrated, he sings like a eunuch.
Painted Veils
James Huneker
He should then be castrated, and fattened with the old ewes.
Buffon's Natural History. Volume V (of 10)
Georges Louis Leclerc de Buffon
Before the kids are allowed to go out with the flock the males should be castrated.
Practical Angora Goat Raising
C. P. Bailey

British Dictionary definitions for castrated

castrate

verb (tr)

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)

Derived Formscastration, nouncastrator, noun

Word Origin for castrate

C17: from Latin castrāre to emasculate, geld

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for castrated

castrate

1610s (implied in castrated), back-formation from castration (q.v.), or from Latin castratus, past participle of castrare. The figurative sense is attested earlier (1550s). Related: Castrating.

castrated in Medicine

castrate

[kăs′trāt′]

v.

To remove the testicles of a male; emasculate.

To remove the ovaries of a female; spay.