What does "emasculate" mean?
To deprive of virile or procreative power; to castrate, to geld.
Emasculate
/ɪˈmask.jʊlˌeɪt/ adj, verb
adj, verb ·Moderate ·College level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: To deprive of virile or procreative power; to castrate, to geld.
- Grammar: emasculate is listed as adj, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: castrate, alter, capon, castrate.
- Useful contrasts: empower, enable, enhance.
- Usage evidence: Constructed languages either are simplified as much as possible, or their grammar lacks the harmony peculiar to natural languages. Both disadvantages emasculate the language.
How to use "emasculate"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "emasculate" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "emasculate" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "emasculate" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "emasculate" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "emasculate" is acting as adj, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "castrate" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "emasculate", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Verb
- 1 To deprive of virile or procreative power; to castrate, to geld. transitive
"Castration has a ſtrange effect; it emaſculates both man, beaſt and bird, and brings them to a near reſemblance of the other ſex. Thus, eunuchs have ſmooth unmuſcular arms, thighs, and legs; and broad hips, and beardleſs chins, and ſqueaking voices. Gelt stags and bucks have hornleſs heads, like hinds and does."
- 2 remove the testicles of a male animal wordnet
- 3 To deprive of virile or procreative power; to castrate, to geld.; To remove the entire male genitalia (the testicles, scrotum, and penis) of (a person or animal). specifically, transitive
- 4 deprive of strength or vigor wordnet
- 5 To deprive of masculine vigor or spirit; to weaken; to render effeminate; to vitiate by unmanly softness. transitive
"[H]is Majeſty [...] is now reſolved (in proſecution of his priſtine Counſels) by force or policy to diſſolve this Parliament in diſcontent, as he hath done all former, and that with ſuch advantages of a generall ill opinion of Parliaments in the ignorant miſ-informed vulgar on the one hand, and of a prevailing counquering power on his part on the other hand, as ſhall either utterly extinguiſh the hopes and Bill of ſummoning any future trienniall Parliamentary Aſſemblies, or at leaſt ſo emaſculate the vigour, and eclipſe the power of them, if called; [...]"
Show 1 more definition
- 6 Of a flower: to deprive of the anthers. transitive
"It is well understood that in artificial cross-fertilizing, in order to prevent self-fecundation, we emasculate the flower from which we wish to obtain the seeds for new varieties; that is, we remove the anthers from that flower, and in the proper season apply to the stigma the pollen from some other distinct flower."
Adjective
- 1 Deprived of virility or vigor; unmanned, weak.
"If the Icelander in his native climate ever ſhould experience the impulſe of a painter's genius, the year itſelf would not ſupply many hours in which his fingers could obey its ſummons; and in the other extremity of climate, where every fibre is unſtrung by relaxation, all, who have experienced, know the inaptitude both of mind and body towards any action or employ of either; unfit alike for arts and arms, the emaſculate and ſoft inhabitant ſinks into ſloth and ſlumbers away a life, that ſcarce deſerves a better name than vegetation."
Adjective
- 1 having unsuitable feminine qualities wordnet
Example
"Constructed languages either are simplified as much as possible, or their grammar lacks the harmony peculiar to natural languages. Both disadvantages emasculate the language."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "emasculate"?
Common synonyms include: castrate, alter, capon, castrate, castrated, castrating.
How do you use "emasculate" in a sentence?
Constructed languages either are simplified as much as possible, or their grammar lacks the harmony peculiar to natural languages. Both disadvantages emasculate the language.
How do you pronounce "emasculate"?
Pronounced /ɪˈmask.jʊlˌeɪt/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Medieval Latin ēmasculātus, perfect passive participle of ēmasculō (“to emasculate”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from ē(x)- (“out, from, apart”) + masculus (“male, masculine”) + -ō (first conjugation verb-forming suffix), further from mās (“a man, a male”) + -culus (diminutive suffix).
Etymology 2
Learned borrowing from Medieval Latin ēmasculātus (more at Etymology 1), see -ate (adjective-forming suffix).