emasculate

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

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.

Origin of emasculate

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

Related formse·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/, adjectiveself-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. 2018

Related Words for emasculate

vitiate, debilitate, fix, devitalize, impoverish, enervate, alter

Examples from the Web for emasculate

Contemporary Examples of 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
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

Historical Examples of emasculate

The prayer-habit tends to emasculate the moral strength of its devotees.
The Real Jesus of the Four Gospels
J. B. Atwater
This is an invitation to all who can to emasculate themselves.
Is the Morality of Jesus Sound?
M. M. Mangasarian
He says what good are homes if they emasculate spirited men.
The Crow's Nest
Clarence Day, Jr.
But, it is said, that the fine arts soften and emasculate the mind.
The Life, Studies, And Works Of Benjamin West, Esq.
John Galt
He begins to see Bertha as she is: her unscrupulousness in money matters, her ceaseless effort to emasculate him.
The Social Significance of the Modern Drama
Emma Goldman

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

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.