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
Those scenarios are plausible because college and pro sports are loaded with examples of teams gelding themselves to keep a star player happy.
—
Mac Engel
april 16, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 16 Apr. 2026
By gelding a choirboy, the Church would suspend his gossamer vocal cords so that a child’s song could live on in a man’s throat, backed, crucially, by a man’s powerful lungs.
—Dan Piepenbring, Harpers Magazine, 27 Jan. 2026
Gegen and his 12-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding One Question raced through the course in 44.686 seconds for the win.
—Karen Billing, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 May 2025
An Oldenburg gelding in the horse barn, which is paved with rubber tiles; another stall contains a 1900s French armchair, a 19th-century table, and bird prints.
—Anita Sarsidi, ELLE Decor, 1 June 2023
See All Example Sentences for geld
Mac Engel
april 16, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 16 Apr. 2026
By gelding a choirboy, the Church would suspend his gossamer vocal cords so that a child’s song could live on in a man’s throat, backed, crucially, by a man’s powerful lungs.
—Dan Piepenbring, Harpers Magazine, 27 Jan. 2026
Gegen and his 12-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding One Question raced through the course in 44.686 seconds for the win.
—Karen Billing, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 May 2025
An Oldenburg gelding in the horse barn, which is paved with rubber tiles; another stall contains a 1900s French armchair, a 19th-century table, and bird prints.
—Anita Sarsidi, ELLE Decor, 1 June 2023
See All Example Sentences for geld
Recent Examples of Synonyms for geld
Verb
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The alleged threat is portrayed as undermining First Amendment protections for freedom of association, which concerns the ability of groups to engage in expression and group activities without government interference.—
Michael McCann,
Sportico.com,
15 June 2026
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So, Sacramento needs to undermine the demagogic manufacturers by stepping up vote counting while keeping elections virtually fraud-free.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
15 June 2026
Verb
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Seemingly to help stave off temptation, a half dozen of the 18 male cult members who died had been surgically castrated, according to The New York Times, including Applewhite.—
Savannah Walsh,
Vanity Fair,
8 June 2026
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Under colonial rule hijras were accused of acting as male prostitutes and of kidnapping and castrating children to grow their community.—
Charles Preston,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
28 May 2026
Verb
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Over the course of two summers, the Kings weakened the fulcrum of their roster by losing Matt Roy and Vladislav Gavrikov in free agency, then exacerbating matters by casting off Jordan Spence for a modest return.—
Andrew Knoll,
Daily News,
9 June 2026
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The acid can etch, discolor, or weaken stone and concrete.—
Brandee Gruener,
Southern Living,
9 June 2026
Verb
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If anything, you’re getting called out for committing to people, places and things that have been low-key draining you.—
Valerie Mesa,
PEOPLE,
11 June 2026
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Just be sure to plant it in well-draining loamy or sandy soil in a location that receives 6 to 8 hours of direct sunlight.—
Patricia Shannon,
Southern Living,
11 June 2026
Verb
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Trapped by high interest rates and the cumulative weight of inflation, the bottom 80 percent of earners are aggressively pulling back on discretionary goods, exhausting credit options and downgrading to private-label and discount brands.—
Arthur Zaczkiewicz,
Footwear News,
10 June 2026
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On Tuesday, the Social Security Administration said the federal program is at risk of exhausting its trust fund as soon as 2023.—
Aimee Picchi,
CBS News,
10 June 2026
Verb
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Trudeau embraced the Southern California vibes and wore a green T-shirt with black shorts and a pair of dark sunglasses.—
Tracy Wright,
FOXNews.com,
16 June 2026
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When a group of six fans wearing white t-shirts with the pre-revolution flag emblazoned on the fronts tried to enter, they were stopped by a security staffer, who called over her supervisor.—
Henry Bushnell,
New York Times,
16 June 2026
Verb
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The first film follows a group of French high-school students who travel to Naples on a school trip to discover the ruins of Pompeii and the bodies petrified by Vesuvius.—
Melanie Goodfellow,
Deadline,
20 May 2026
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Johansson plays her with a tough edge to match her Queens accent, but Hester is clearly petrified by this perfect storm of ugly events.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
16 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Geld.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/geld. Accessed 17 Jun. 2026.
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