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emasculate - 7 dictionary results

e⋅mas⋅cu⋅late

  [v. i-mas-kyuh-leyt; adj. i-mas-kyuh-lit, -leyt] verb, -lat⋅ed, -lat⋅ing, adjective
Use emasculate in a Sentence
–verb (used with object)
1. to castrate.
2. to deprive of strength or vigor; weaken.
–adjective
3. deprived of or lacking strength or vigor; effeminate.
Origin:
1600–10; < L ēmasculātus (ptp. of ēmasculāre), equiv. to ē- e- + māscul(us) male + -ātus -ate 1

Related forms:
e⋅mas⋅cu⋅la⋅tion, noun
e⋅mas⋅cu⋅la⋅tive, adjective
e⋅mas⋅cu⋅la⋅tor, noun
e⋅mas⋅cu⋅la⋅to⋅ry  [i-mas-kyuh-luh-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee] , adjective

Synonyms:
2. debilitate, undermine, devitalize, soften.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To emasculate
e·mas·cu·late   (ĭ-mās'kyə-lāt')   
tr.v.   e·mas·cu·lat·ed, e·mas·cu·lat·ing, e·mas·cu·lates
  1. To castrate.
  2. To deprive of strength or vigor; weaken.
adj.   (-lĭt)
Deprived of virility, strength, or vigor.

[Latin ēmasculāre, ēmasculāt- : ē-, ex-, ex- + masculus, male, diminutive of mās, male, man.]
e·mas'cu·la'tion n., e·mas'cu·la'tive, e·mas'cu·la·to'ry (-lə-tôr'ē, -tōr'ē) adj., e·mas'cu·la'tor n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Emasculate

E*mas"cu*late\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Emasculated; p. pr. & vb. n. Emasculating.] [L. emasculare; e + masculus male, masculine. See Male masculine.]

1. To deprive of virile or procreative power; to castrate power; to castrate; to geld.

2. To deprive of masculine vigor or spirit; to weaken; to render effeminate; to vitiate by unmanly softness.

Luxury had not emasculated their minds. --V. Knox.

Emasculate

E*mas"cu*late\, a. Deprived of virility or vigor; unmanned; weak. "Emasculate slave." --Hammond.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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emasculate 
1607, from L. emasculatus, pp. of emasculare "castrate," from ex- "out, away" + masculus "male" (see masculine). Originally and usually in the fig. sense.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: emas·cu·late
Pronunciation: i-'mas-ky&-"lAt
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Forms: -lat·ed; -lat·ing
: to deprive (as a law or judicial opinion) of force or effectiveness
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Main Entry: emas·cu·late
Pronunciation: i-'mas-ky&-"lAt
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Forms: -lat·ed; -lat·ing
: to deprive of virility or procreative power : CASTRATE —emas·cu·la·tion /-"mas-ky&-'lA-sh&n/ noun
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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