emasculate
verb
emas·cu·late
i-ˈma-skyə-ˌlāt 
emasculated; emasculating
1
: to deprive of strength, vigor, or spirit : weaken
2
: to deprive of virility or procreative power : castrate
3
: to remove the androecium of (a flower) in the process of artificial cross-pollination
Examples of emasculate in a Sentence
He plays the role of a meek husband who has been emasculated by his domineering wife.
Critics charged that this change would emasculate the law.
Recent Examples on the Web
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
By emasculating standards for performance, equity grading has both encouraged and hidden academic dysfunction.
—Steve Forbes, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 2025
Apparently, not in the D.C. Court of Appeals, and our cowardly Congress will rue the day this emasculating ruling remains the law of the land.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, MSNBC Newsweek, 19 Aug. 2025
He’s not emasculated, there’s no affair on the side, there’s no secret loathing, there’s no immature handling of arguments or true failures of communication with dire consequences.
—Alex Ross, People.com, 19 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for emasculate
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Garth Greenwell, Harpers Magazine, 19 Sep. 2025
By emasculating standards for performance, equity grading has both encouraged and hidden academic dysfunction.
—Steve Forbes, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 2025
Apparently, not in the D.C. Court of Appeals, and our cowardly Congress will rue the day this emasculating ruling remains the law of the land.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, MSNBC Newsweek, 19 Aug. 2025
He’s not emasculated, there’s no affair on the side, there’s no secret loathing, there’s no immature handling of arguments or true failures of communication with dire consequences.
—Alex Ross, People.com, 19 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for emasculate
Cite this Entry
“Emasculate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/emasculate. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.
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Medical Definition
emasculate
transitive verb
emas·cu·late
i-ˈmas-kyə-ˌlāt
emasculated; emasculating
: to deprive of virility or procreative power : castrate
Legal Definition
emasculate
transitive verb
emas·cu·late
i-ˈmas-kyə-ˌlāt
emasculated; emasculating
: to deprive (as a law or judicial opinion) of force or effectiveness
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