emasculate

verb emas·cu·late \ i-ˈma-skyə-ˌlāt \

|Updated on: 24 Jun 2018

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Examples: emasculate in a Sentence

Definition of emasculate

emasculated; emasculating

transitive verb

1 : to deprive of strength, vigor, or spirit : weaken

2 : to deprive of virility or procreative power : castrate

3 : to remove the androecium of (a flower) in the process of artificial cross-pollination

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emasculate

play \i-ˈma-skyə-lət\ adjective

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emasculation

play \i-ˌma-skyə-ˈlā-shən\ noun

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emasculator

play \i-ˈma-skyə-ˌlā-tər\ noun

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Examples of emasculate in a Sentence

He plays the role of a meek husband who has been emasculated by his domineering wife.
Critics charged that this change would emasculate the law.

Recent Examples of emasculate from the Web

The way @kathygriffin emasculated Kevin Hart is a big insult to blk men.

— nick vadala, Philly.com, "Kathy Griffin slams Kevin Hart over avoiding Trump material onstage," 15 June 2018
Neutral election monitors are muzzled; opposition candidates locked up; districts gerrymandered; constitutions altered; and, in extreme cases, legislatures emasculated.

— The Economist, "Lessons from the rise of strongmen in weak states," 14 June 2018
And by the way, your girlfriend must be very immature to deliberately emasculate you in front of her friends and family.

— abigail van buren, Houston Chronicle, "Hard work in gym pays off with arm-wrestling triumph," 20 May 2018
Immobilized and emasculated, the man was then forced to lie there, listening to the rape occurring a room away.

— CBS News, "Has "The Golden State Killer" been caught?," 28 Apr. 2018
On one level, these guys feel that they have been emasculated.

— sarah jones, The New Republic, "Can White Supremacists Unlearn Hate?," 13 Apr. 2018
The president emasculates those who fall from favor, humiliating them through media leaks and in disparaging comments to friends.

— Washington Post, "The Health 202: Azar tells staff Trump wants 'big and bold' health care changes," 28 Mar. 2018
When a mother injects a child with a syringe, the mother is entering the child’s body in a way that could be symbolic for emasculating him.

— anna silman, The Cut, "Has There Ever Been a Real-life Case Like Phantom Thread?," 26 Jan. 2018
In black men, it is magnified because it is rooted in the idea that society is always trying to emasculate black men.

— monique judge, The Root, "Nipsey Hussle, Homophobia and Toxic Black Masculinity," 10 Jan. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'emasculate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of emasculate

Latin emasculatus, past participle of emasculare, from e- + masculus male — more at male

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1607

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

emasculate Synonyms

Synonym Discussion of emasculate

unnerve, enervate, unman, emasculate mean to deprive of strength or vigor and the capacity for effective action. unnerve implies marked often temporary loss of courage, self-control, or power to act.