feminize
Americanverb (used with or without object)
verb
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to make or become feminine
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to cause (a male animal) to develop female characteristics
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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feminizationnoun
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defeminizationnoun
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unfeminizeverb (used with object)
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defeminizeverb (used with object)
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overfeminizeverb
Conjugated Forms
Present
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have feminizedperfect
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has feminizedperfect 3rd person singular
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has been feminizingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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is feminizingprogressive 3rd person singular
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have been feminizingperfect progressive
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are feminizingprogressive
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am feminizingprogressive 1st person singular
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feminizessingular 3rd person
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feminizingparticiple
Past
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had feminizedperfect
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had been feminizingperfect progressive
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were feminizingprogressive plural
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was feminizingprogressive singular
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feminizedsimple
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feminizedparticiple
Future
Etymology
Origin of feminize
1645–55; < Latin fēmin ( a ) woman + -ize
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.
The New York Times’ Karen Rosenberg described it as the first project “to humanize and feminize the atrium.”
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 6, 2021
My goal had been to feminize my appearance and prevent any further masculinization.
From Slate • Sep. 12, 2018
Being a big-boned gal with broad shoulders, I knew a fuller bust line would detract from that and feminize my appearance even more.
From Salon • Sep. 1, 2018
“To feminize politics, to me, implies to have more coöperative ways of working that actually allow you to combine professional and private life,” Colau said.
From The New Yorker • Aug. 6, 2018
Other research groups had seen evidence that atrazine can demasculinize — and in some instances feminize — exposed animals.
From Washington Post • Mar. 2, 2010
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.
