as in to undermine
to deprive of emotional or intellectual vitality
by the time of the fourth rewrite, the screenplay had pretty much been gelded of all originality
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of geld
Because Moscow retains a close partner in this effort to geld Ukraine—a vassal state that presents the model for what Putin would like to accomplish in Ukraine: Belarus.
—
Casey Michel, The New Republic, 1 Mar. 2022
Yet on May 8, 1920 — 100 years ago Friday — Man o’ War was conspicuously absent from Churchill Downs, neither entered nor even nominated for the 46th Derby won by the gelding Paul Jones.
—Tim Sullivan, The Courier-Journal, 7 May 2020
Following the bad start, the gelding angled in for clearance and finished fairly well far back while guzzled nearing the wire.
—Los Angeles Times, 10 Apr. 2020
Fuchs, riding the experienced gelding Clooney 51, and Maher with Explosion W, produced four flawless rounds over two days to win the final event of the regular season.
—Danielle Rossingh, CNN, 29 Sep. 2019
See All Example Sentences for geld
Casey Michel, The New Republic, 1 Mar. 2022
Yet on May 8, 1920 — 100 years ago Friday — Man o’ War was conspicuously absent from Churchill Downs, neither entered nor even nominated for the 46th Derby won by the gelding Paul Jones.
—Tim Sullivan, The Courier-Journal, 7 May 2020
Following the bad start, the gelding angled in for clearance and finished fairly well far back while guzzled nearing the wire.
—Los Angeles Times, 10 Apr. 2020
Fuchs, riding the experienced gelding Clooney 51, and Maher with Explosion W, produced four flawless rounds over two days to win the final event of the regular season.
—Danielle Rossingh, CNN, 29 Sep. 2019
See All Example Sentences for geld
Recent Examples of Synonyms for geld
Verb
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The problem comes when ideological casting choices begin to undermine the narrative, contravening Grisham’s famously effective structure and pacing.—
Graham Hillard,
The Washington Examiner,
5 Sep. 2025
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Ten Hag’s first season at United yielded silverware and a third-place league finish, but also had bouts of concerning away form, with tactical weaknesses that would eventually spread and critically undermine his plans for the future.—
Carl Anka,
New York Times,
5 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Donkey has now been castrated, and the adorable family trio lives together in a large field with Partridge's other horses.—
Alyce Collins,
MSNBC Newsweek,
16 Aug. 2025
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The opera premiered in Rome at a time when castrati, or castrated male singers, took on treble roles; a papal decree forbade women from performing onstage.—
Hannah Edgar,
Chicago Tribune,
28 June 2025
Verb
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Israeli strikes severely weakened Hezbollah – culminating in the assassination of its revered leader, Hassan Nasrallah – and significantly curtailed the group’s domestic clout.—
Mostafa Salem,
CNN Money,
5 Sep. 2025
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Symptoms related to Listeria monocytogenes Listeria is especially harmful to people whose immune system is weakened or not fully developed but can also impact healthy individuals.—
Julia Gomez,
USA Today,
5 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The cool-season annual needs full sun and well-draining soil to grow, and prefers mild temperatures.—
Karen Brewer Grossman,
Southern Living,
5 Sep. 2025
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Fraudulent pet listings are leaving victims emotionally devastated and financially drained, Dennis Horton, senior director of the Rockford Regional Office, said in the announcement.—
Abreanna Blose,
USA Today,
4 Sep. 2025
Verb
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With all other options seemingly exhausted, Una and Spock decide to take another path by getting in touch with their crewmates’ katras, roughly the Vulcan term for the soul, though the Vulcans would probably not want to use that term.—
Keith Phipps,
Vulture,
4 Sep. 2025
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Jones remained on Ohio's death row for decades, exhausting most of his appeals, until Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Wende Cross overturned his murder conviction, freed him from prison and granted him a new trial two years ago.—
Dan Horn,
The Enquirer,
3 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Officials said that none of the passengers on the boat were wearing life jackets at the time of the incident, and alcohol is not believed to have been a factor in the crash.—
Charna Flam,
PEOPLE,
5 Sep. 2025
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Rare was the big public event in which none of the bold names were telling red-carpet interlocutors that were wearing Armani.—
Belinda Luscombe,
Time,
5 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Hollywood seems to be petrified of AI.—
Georg Szalai,
HollywoodReporter,
6 Aug. 2025
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So don’t go around being petrified of having your esophagus rupture someday.—
Bruce Y. Lee,
Forbes.com,
28 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Geld.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/geld. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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