feminize

verb

fem·​i·​nize ˈfe-mə-ˌnīz 

feminized; feminizing

transitive verb

1

: to give a feminine quality to

feminize an outfit

2

: to cause (a male or castrate) to take on feminine characters (as by implantation of ovaries or administration of estrogens)

3

: to cause to be made up of more females than males

Our society feminizes certain professions.

feminization

ˌfe-mə-nə-ˈzā-shən 

noun

Examples of feminize in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Zero Degrees Celsius was doing well with a tie-front striped shirt feminized with rhinestones that wholesaled for $78, along with a mixed media knit with cotton, also $78. —Lisa Lockwood, Footwear News, 17 Sep. 2025

News reports described how hormones in the runoff from pharmaceutical manufacturing were feminizing fish and detailed the high concentration of antibiotics discovered in riverbeds and sewage. —Thomas J. Bollyky, Foreign Affairs, 22 July 2025

By producing flowers that are sterile, not just feminized, growers may finally have a buffer against stray pollen. —Javier Hasse, Forbes.com, 2 June 2025

In that making-a-way-out-of-no-way style that is characteristic of working-class Black folks, our dandy queers and feminizes sartorial aesthetics to spoil social notions around class. —Akilah Sailers, Essence, 28 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1652, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for feminize

• advertise
• aggrandize
• agonize
• alibis
• alkalies
• alkalis
• amortize
• amplifies
• analyse
• analyze
• anywise
• authorize

Medical Definition

feminize

transitive verb

fem·​i·​nize

variants or British feminise

ˈfem-ə-ˌnīz 

feminized or British feminised; feminizing or British feminising

: to cause (a male or castrate) to take on feminine characters (as by implantation of ovaries or administration of estrogenic substances)

feminization noun

or British feminisation

ˌfem-ə-nə-ˈzā-shən