castrated
Americanadjective
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emasculated by having the testicles removed.
Some castrated male cats will spray urine, but it is much more common in unneutered males.
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deprived of strength, force, or effectiveness.
She claims that the International Criminal Court is a castrated organization with no policing power.
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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.
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of castrated
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.
Some historical records, including data from Korean Eunuchs in the pre-19th century Chosun Dynasty, suggest that castrated men lived about 18 percent longer than men who were not castrated.
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 castrated man; especially, one of those who were employed as harem attendants or functionaries in certain Oriental courts.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
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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.