deflower
Americanverb (used with object)
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to deprive (a woman) of virginity.
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to despoil of beauty, freshness, sanctity, etc.
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to deprive or strip of flowers.
The deer had deflowered an entire section of the garden.
verb
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to deprive of virginity, esp by rupturing the hymen through sexual intercourse
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to despoil of beauty, innocence, etc; mar; violate
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to rob or despoil of flowers
Other Word Forms
- deflowerer noun
Etymology
Origin of deflower
1350–1400; Middle English deflouren < Old French desflorer < Latin dēflōrāre, equivalent to dē- de- + flōr-, stem of flōs flower + -āre infinitive suffix
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.
In the budding of youth, ere wild winds can deflower The shut leaves of man's life, round the germ of his power Yet folded, his life had been earnest.
From Lucile by Meredith, Owen
Individual inspiration was a sacred thing, which reality with its rules and prejudices could only spoil and deflower.
From The Great Events by Famous Historians, Volume 13 by Rudd, John
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.
