deflower
[ dih-flou-er ]
/ dɪˈflaʊ ər /
verb (used with object)
to deprive (a woman) of virginity.
to despoil of beauty, freshness, sanctity, etc.
to deprive or strip of flowers: The deer had deflowered an entire section of the garden.
RELATED WORDS
defile, harm, mar, force, spoil, desecrate, ravish, ruin, seduce, ravage, despoil, assault, devour, have, outrage, molest, violate, possess, depredate
Nearby words
- deflective,
- deflexed,
- deflocculant,
- deflocculate,
- defloration,
- defluvium,
- defluxion,
- defo,
- defocus,
- defoe
Origin of deflower
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for deflower
Individual inspiration was a sacred thing, which reality with its rules and prejudices could only spoil and deflower.
In Poland, the noblemen arrogated the right to deflower any maid they pleased, and a hundred lashes were given him who complained.
Woman under socialism|August BebelFor she deliberately sent down to the beach her daughter, who was of marriageable age, and prompted her father to deflower her.
The Danish History, Books I-IX|Saxo Grammaticus ("Saxo the Learned")
deflower
/ (diːˈflaʊə) /
verb (tr)
to deprive of virginity, esp by rupturing the hymen through sexual intercourse
to despoil of beauty, innocence, etc; mar; violate
to rob or despoil of flowers
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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deflower
late 14c., "deprive (a maiden) of her virginity," also "excerpt the best parts of (a book)," from Old French desflorer (13c., Modern French déflorer) "to deflower (a garden); to take the virginity of," from Late Latin deflorare, from de- (see de-) + flos "flower" (see flora). Notion is "to strip of flowers," hence "to ravish," which is the oldest sense in English.
The French Indians are said not to have deflowered any of our young women they captivated. [James Adair, "The Life of an Indian Trader," London, 1775]
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper