emasculate
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to deprive of strength; weaken.
The law was emasculated by its opponents, making it largely ineffective by the time it was passed.
- Synonyms:
- soften, devitalize, undermine, debilitate
-
to make (a man) feel less masculine.
Though some men might feel emasculated not making an income, I'm very happy as a stay-at-home father.
-
to remove the testicles of; castrate.
adjective
verb
-
to remove the testicles of; castrate; geld
-
to deprive of vigour, effectiveness, etc
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botany to remove the stamens from (a flower) to prevent self-pollination for the purposes of plant breeding
adjective
-
castrated; gelded
-
deprived of strength, effectiveness, etc
Other Word Forms
- emasculation noun
- emasculative adjective
- emasculator noun
- emasculatory adjective
- self-emasculation noun
- unemasculated adjective
- unemasculative adjective
- unemasculatory adjective
Etymology
Origin of emasculate
First recorded in 1600–10; from Latin ēmasculātus (past participle of ēmasculāre ), equivalent to ē- “from”+ māscul(us) “male” + -ātus adjective suffix; e- 1, male, -ate 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
That dynamic was taboo for generations of Americans who feared it might emasculate men and ruin couples’ romantic lives.
From The Wall Street Journal • Sep. 27, 2025
It's childish and weird to act like even looking at a tampon box will emasculate you.
From Salon • Aug. 8, 2024
The British attempted to correct the problem by using another lubricant, but Indian troops remained suspicious and some began to believe the British were intentionally using lubricants made of offensive materials to emasculate the sepoys.
From Textbooks • Dec. 14, 2022
Or they came from players, who used the barbs as a way to emasculate or demean the opponents across from them.
From New York Times • Apr. 23, 2018
It was upon such occasions that he saw, or thought he saw, the inevitable tendency of European cities to emasculate and corrupt the rugged nobilities of mankind.
From Murder Point A Tale of Keewatin by Dawson, Coningsby
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
