emasculating

verb

present participle of emasculate
as in paralyzing
to deprive of courage or confidence being eliminated early in one's very first tennis tournament can be an emasculating experience

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 emasculating In the political sphere—an arena that’s increasingly entangled with social media—figures such as Elon Musk decry empathy as an emasculating plague. — Katy Waldman, New Yorker, 12 Jan. 2026 And yet precisely this dynamic ensures that commitment between men, the kind of domesticity that David and Giovanni attempt to establish in Giovanni’s room, can only ever be emasculating. — Garth Greenwell, Harpers Magazine, 19 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for emasculating
  1. paralyzing
  2. intimidating
  3. frightening
  4. terrifying
  5. scaring
Verb
  • Though brief, Yoon’s martial law declaration plunged South Korea into a political crisis, paralyzing politics and high-level diplomacy while rattling financial markets.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 9 July 2026
  • With endless criteria, knowing exactly what to ask for from a pair of jean shorts is paralyzing.
    — Hannah Jackson, Vogue, 25 June 2026
Definition of paralyzing
Verb
  • The young boy’s biggest concern is staying out of the crosshairs of Calavera (Mauro Guzmán), the neighborhood bully who seems destined to follow the same path as his intimidating older brother, Felix (Cosmo Gonzalez).
    — Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 8 July 2026
  • Sangha said that gangsters intimidating immigrants in the Central Valley is far more prevalent than reported.
    — Joe Rubin, Sacbee.com, 8 July 2026
Definition of intimidating
Verb
  • Powell tried to open the stall door, and then began fondling himself, frightening the 11-year-old, who tried to leave, but Powell blocked him from getting out.
    — Todd Feurer, CBS News, 6 June 2026
  • This war has been a disaster for them, frightening away foreign investors, tourists and talent and burdening them with a future of huge new defense bills to deter Iran after the United States is gone.
    — Thomas L. Friedman, Mercury News, 15 May 2026
Definition of frightening
Verb
  • These get forwarded across the internet, and soon masses of young people are surging into an urban plaza or park, often terrifying any adult who happens to be nearby.
    — Robert F. Worth, The Atlantic, 10 July 2026
  • Grand Canyon The Grand Canyon is breathtaking and also terrifying with a 4-year-old along.
    — Sarah D. Wire, USA Today, 17 May 2026
Definition of terrifying
Verb
  • Maybe two or three groups of hoaxers out there at once, bumping into each other in the dark and scaring the scales off one another.
    — Star-Telegram staff, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 10 July 2026
  • There are multiple songs that could be (and were) covered by the Jackson 5 without scaring the teenyboppers, but Stone’s musical and lyrical depth is right there in the band’s most accessible album.
    — Al Shipley, SPIN, 7 July 2026
Definition of scaring

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emasculates
emasculating
emasculation
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Cite this Entry

“Emasculating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/emasculating. Accessed 16 Jul. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on emasculating

Nglish: Translation of emasculating for Spanish Speakers

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