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

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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

Come, come, you spirits That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here; And fill me from the crown to the toe, top full Of direst cruelty!

From Shakspere, Personal Recollections by John A. Joyce

Many Socialists, in giving to woman equality with man as a wage-earner and voter, wish to unsex her completely.

From British Socialism An Examination of Its Doctrines, Policy, Aims and Practical Proposals by J. Ellis Barker

Let her be true to her own glorious nature, and this attempt to unsex and discrown her will meet with the swift and terrible condemnation it deserves.

From True Woman, The A Series of Discourses by Justin D. Fulton

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