unsex

American  

[uhn-seks] / ʌnˈsɛks /

verb (used with object)

1. to render (an animal or person) unable to reproduce sexually, as by removing the testicles or ovaries.

   A gelding is a male horse that has been unsexed and cannot breed.

2. to deprive (oneself or another person) of the qualities or character considered typical or desirable for one's gender.

   Those against female suffrage claimed that the right to vote would unsex women, leaving them unable to care for their homes and children.

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unsex British  

/ ʌnˈsɛks /

verb

1. literary to deprive (a person) of the attributes of his or her sex, esp to make a woman more callous

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Etymology

Origin of unsex

First recorded in 1595–1605; un- ² + sex

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

unsex

Lady Macbeth has no such qualms when she’s summoning evil spirits to unsex her in “Macbeth.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 17, 2026

George Eliot, as a true artist, sees what is faulty in the catastrophe, but she will not unsex her creation.

From Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science Volume 11, No. 24, March, 1873 by Various

Shall she return To vex our souls, unsex our wives and daughters, And spoil our pictures as she did of old?

From Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 104, January 21, 1893 by Burnand, F. C. (Francis Cowley), Sir

When opposed, the protagonists of this position cry that their opponent wishes to unsex women; to repudiate motherhood; and see in all the natural development of the modern woman only a threat of decreased population.

From The Forerunner, Volume 1 (1909-1910) by Gilman, Charlotte Perkins

Beat purer, heart, and higher,    Till God unsex thee on the heavenly shore    Where unincarnate spirits purely aspire!

From Frederick Chopin, as a Man and Musician — Volume 1 by Niecks, Frederick