emasculate

verb

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emas·cu·late | \ i-ˈma-skyə-ˌlāt

emasculated; emasculating

Definition of emasculate

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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Choose the Right Synonym for 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. unnerved by the near collision enervate suggests a gradual physical or moral weakening (as through luxury or indolence) until one is too feeble to make an effort. a nation's youth enervated by affluence and leisure unman implies a loss of manly vigor, fortitude, or spirit. a soldier unmanned by the terrors of battle emasculate stresses a depriving of characteristic force by removing something essential. an amendment that emasculates existing safeguards

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 on the Web Both women know that forceful men are all often described as strong and assertive, while forceful women are dismissed as angry, emasculating or hectoring. — Charlotte Alter, Time, "Gender Politics at the Democratic Debate Show How Hard It Is To Fight Like a Girl," 21 Nov. 2019 Here is a president who seems not to feel shame but who does seem to fear, more than anything else, appearing weak or emasculated. — Washington Post, "Kellyanne and George Conway’s tawdry love triangle with all of us," 10 Oct. 2019 The terms are in and of themselves wrong, but being judged on those terms, there’s a level of shame, of feeling emasculated. — Hannah Giorgis, The Atlantic, "What Ta-Nehisi Coates Wants to Remember," 29 Sep. 2019 He was fitted with a catheter, which was emasculating enough, but the specter of prostate cancer also loomed. — Carolita Johnson, Longreads, "A Woman’s Work: Till Death Do Us Part," 28 Oct. 2019 For many Asian American men, who’ve had a history of being emasculated in Hollywood, Bruce Lee remains an important figure, representing strength and power. — NBC News, "Quentin Tarantino won't recut 'Once Upon a Time in Hollywood' after film is pulled in China," 21 Oct. 2019 Dear Miss Manners: My close friend is married to a woman who is very critical of him in front of his friends, often in emasculating ways. — Judith Martin, Washington Post, "Miss Manners: Slight misspelling makes her feel slighted," 4 Oct. 2019 The guy just suffered a massive, historic, emasculating 70-point victory. — Michael Brendan Dougherty, National Review, "Ben Penn’s Bad-Faith Hit Job on Leif Olson," 3 Sep. 2019 Houser blames a variety of factors for that situation from lack of government support for spay-and-neuter programs to a perception by some pet owners that altering their pets emasculates them and it’s against their belief. — Karen Zurawski, Houston Chronicle, "Special Pals marks 40 years," 21 Aug. 2019

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.

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Last Updated

21 Jan 2020

Cite this Entry

“Emasculate.” The Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster Inc., https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/emasculate. Accessed 25 January 2020.

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More Definitions for emasculate

emasculate

verb