feminize

[fem-uh-nahyz]

verb (used with or without object), fem·i·nized, fem·i·niz·ing.

to make or become feminine.

Also especially British, fem·i·nise.

Origin of feminize

1645–55; < Latin fēmin(a) woman + -ize

Related formsfem·i·ni·za·tion, nounde·fem·i·ni·za·tion, nounde·fem·i·nize, verb (used with object), de·fem·i·nized, de·fem·i·niz·ing.o·ver·fem·i·nize, verb, o·ver·fem·i·nized, o·ver·fem·i·niz·ing.un·fem·i·nize, verb (used with object), un·fem·i·nized, un·fem·i·niz·ing.

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

Examples from the Web for feminize

Contemporary Examples of feminize

Supporters of the ban speculate that women distract men and that they may even “feminize,” or weaken the military.
Overdue: Why It’s Time to End the U.S. Military’s Female Combat Ban
Megan H. MacKenzie
October 26, 2012

Historical Examples of feminize

We have the moon-god attempting to feminize an unfortunate enemy.
Myths & Legends of Babylonia & Assyria
Lewis Spence
The argument that the presence of women tends to "feminize" the universities is, he grants, more serious.
The Scrap Book, Volume 1, No. 3
Various

British Dictionary definitions for feminize

feminize

feminise

verb

to make or become feminine

to cause (a male animal) to develop female characteristics

Derived Formsfeminization or feminisation, noun

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 feminize

1650s, from Latin femina (see feminine) + -ize. Related: Feminized; feminizing. Femalize (1670s, intransitive, 1709, transitive) and femininize (1868) are more rare.