castrate

[kas-treyt]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR castrate ON THESAURUS.COM

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 castration

sterilization, altering, orchiectomy, gelding, orchidotomy

Examples from the Web for castration

Contemporary Examples of castration

Then, Quast brings up Joni Ernst, and takes out a knife to, I guess, remind voters about her castration skills.
7 WTF Campaign Ads You Can’t Unsee, From Castrators to Alligator Wrestlers
Olivia Nuzzi
May 19, 2014
Hurst sought to get the castration bill passed during the last legislative session but failed.
Fringe Factor: South Carolina Mayor Won’t Apologize for Anti-Gay Rant
Caitlin Dickson
October 20, 2013
Robert Chesal on how Joep Dohmen uncovered the Dutch castration scandal.
Dutch Castration Scandal: How Journalists Broke the Story
Robert Chesal
March 22, 2012

Historical Examples of castration

The third method, that of experiment, is available to us only in the form of castration.
The Sexual Life of the Child
Albert Moll
In Hyderabad, castration used to be performed at about the age of sixteen.
Castes and Tribes of Southern India
Edgar Thurston
It must render intelligible the effects of castration on animals.
The Making of Species
Douglas Dewar
The well-known effects of castration illustrate this connection.
The Making of Species
Douglas Dewar
When children learn about ritual circumcision they identify it with castration.
Totem and Taboo
Sigmund Freud

British Dictionary definitions for castration

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 castration

early 15c., castracioun, from Latin castrationem (nominative castratio), noun of action from past participle stem of castrare "to castrate, emasculate," supposedly from a noun *castrum "knife, instrument that cuts," from PIE root *kes- "to cut" (see caste). Freud's castration complex is attested from 1914 in English (translating German Kastrationsangst).

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.

castration in Medicine

castration

[kă-strā′shən]

n.

Removal of the testicles or ovaries; sterilization.

A psychological disorder that is manifested in the female as the fantasized loss of the penis or in the male as fear of its actual loss.

castrate

[kăs′trāt′]

v.

To remove the testicles of a male; emasculate.

To remove the ovaries of a female; spay.