emasculate

[ verb ih-mas-kyuh-leyt; adjective ih-mas-kyuh-lit, -leyt ]

/ verb ɪˈmæs kyəˌleɪt; adjective ɪˈmæs kyə lɪt, -ˌleɪt /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR emasculate ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), e·mas·cu·lat·ed, e·mas·cu·lat·ing.

to castrate.

to deprive of strength or vigor; weaken.

adjective

deprived of or lacking strength or vigor; effeminate.

Nearby words

emancipationist, emancipator, emancipatory, emanuel, emarginate, emasculate, emasculation, emba, embacle, embalm, embalming

Origin of emasculate

1600–10; < Latin ēmasculātus (past participle of ēmasculāre), equivalent to ē- e-¹ + māscul(us) male + -ātus -ate¹

Related forms

e·mas·cu·la·tion, noune·mas·cu·la·tive, adjectivee·mas·cu·la·tor, noune·mas·cu·la·to·ry

[ih-mas-kyuh-luh-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee] /ɪˈmæs kyə ləˌtɔr i, -ˌtoʊr i/, adjective

self-e·mas·cu·la·tion, nounun·e·mas·cu·lat·ed, adjectiveun·e·mas·cu·la·tive, adjectiveun·e·mas·cu·la·to·ry, adjective

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

Examples from the Web for emasculate

But executives have a lot to do with the larger agenda to emasculate and colonize.
CeeLo and Goodie Mob on Their Comeback, Kanye West’s ‘Emotional Problems,’ More|Marlow Stern|August 13, 2013|DAILY BEAST
And it seemed like Nic was trying to emasculate and castrate this supposedly clichéd action hero.
Ryan Gosling and Nicolas Winding Refn on Sex, Violence & More|Marlow Stern|July 17, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Why must Northern publishers expurgate and emasculate the literature of the world before it is permitted to reach them?
The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 1, Issue 2, December, 1857|Various
As a man Tchaikowsky was practical, conscientious, and did not in the least allow his feelings to emasculate him.
Music: An Art and a Language|Walter Raymond Spalding

Mr. Woodberry's ideas and his expressions are all gentle, though not timid nor emasculate.
The Critical Game|John Albert Macy
I might, did I think it advisable, reproduce in its entirety a text which certain timidities have led me to emasculate.
Woman on Her Own, False Gods & The Red Robe|Eugne Brieux
This is an invitation to all who can to emasculate themselves.
Is the Morality of Jesus Sound?|M. M. Mangasarian

British Dictionary definitions for emasculate

emasculate

verb (ɪˈmæskjʊˌleɪt) (tr)

to remove the testicles of; castrate; geld

to deprive of vigour, effectiveness, etc

botany to remove the stamens from (a flower) to prevent self-pollination for the purposes of plant breeding

adjective (ɪˈmæskjʊlɪt, -ˌleɪt)

castrated; gelded

deprived of strength, effectiveness, etc

Derived Formsemasculation, nounemasculative or emasculatory, adjectiveemasculator, noun

Word Origin for emasculate

C17: from Latin ēmasculāre, from masculus male; see masculine

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 emasculate

emasculate

c.1600, from Latin emasculatus, past participle of emasculare "castrate," from ex- "out, away" (see ex-) + masculus "male, manly" (see masculine). Originally and usually in a figurative sense. Related: Emasculated; emasculating.

emasculate

verb (used with object), e·mas·cu·lat·ed, e·mas·cu·lat·ing.

adjective

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of emasculate

Examples from the Web for emasculate

British Dictionary definitions for emasculate

emasculate

verb (ɪˈmæskjʊˌleɪt) (tr)

adjective (ɪˈmæskjʊlɪt, -ˌleɪt)

Word Origin for emasculate

Word Origin and History for emasculate

emasculate