castrates

verb

present tense third-person singular of castrate
as in undermines
to deprive of emotional or intellectual vitality a movie version that castrates the hard-hitting novel

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of castrates By way of example, Morris points to a scene in Wiseman's 1993 documentary Zoo, in which an all-women surgical team at Miami zoo castrates a wolf. — Chloe Veltman, NPR, 16 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for castrates
  1. undermines
  2. weakens
  3. exhausts
  4. drains
  5. wears
  6. petrifies
Verb
  • Using words like ghosts or spirits undermines what these entities actually are.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 2 Nov. 2026
  • This not only calls into question how much extra food China truly has but also undermines public confidence in the government.
    — JOEL WUTHNOW, Foreign Affairs, 2 Nov. 2026
Definition of undermines
Verb
  • El Niño is a tropical Pacific climate pattern that weakens trade winds, shifts jet streams, and can increase the risk of flooding, droughts, and wildfires.
    — Cindy Carcamo, Christian Science Monitor, 2 Nov. 2026
  • And perhaps most importantly, gerrymandering weakens accountability.
    — Bobby Zirkin, Baltimore Sun, 1 Nov. 2026
Definition of weakens
Verb
  • That pretty much exhausts the points of agreement between the pro- and anti-Proposition 40 camps.
    — Business Columnist, Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Instead of occupying both sides with large cooling vents, air enters toward the front of the station and exhausts through the rear.
    — Michael Lydick, PC Magazine, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of exhausts
Verb
  • Those surpluses initially built a miniscule reserve into a record-setting one, but they mainly have been used to shrink Connecticut’s hefty pension debt, a $30 billion-plus problem that still drains resources from other programs.
    — Keith M. Phaneuf, Hartford Courant, 10 Nov. 2026
  • Since 2024, the Kanta Keepers cooperative has become integral to transporting waste between retailers and upcyclers, to maximize value and profit on every front, while improving flood resilience by keeping aisles and drains clear of waste.
    — Bella Webb, Vogue, 5 Nov. 2026
Definition of drains
Verb
  • Linda Noskova wears Missoni shorts and a jacket and white leather trench by The Frankie Shop; Miista boots.
    — Corey Seymour, Vogue, 6 Nov. 2026
  • The Puch wears race-spec WP suspension forks sourced from a 1993 Aprilia RS 125 R Grand Prix racer, along with a single-sided swingarm from the same machine.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 6 Nov. 2026
Definition of wears
Verb
  • Here, a source of primordial terror—the gaze that petrifies—is deflected by way of the highly polished shield that Perseus wields against the creature.
    — Jan Tumlir, Artforum, 5 Aug. 2026
  • The former slingshots between harmony and hysteria; the latter petrifies its beauty under a haze of ashy gray powder.
    — Jazz Monroe, Pitchfork, 28 Nov. 2025
Definition of petrifies

Browse Nearby Words

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Cite this Entry

“Castrates.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/castrates. Accessed 12 Nov. 2026.

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