e·mas·cu·late

[v. ih-mas-kyuh-leyt; adj. ih-mas-kyuh-lit, -leyt] verb, e·mas·cu·lat·ed, e·mas·cu·lat·ing, adjective
verb (used with object)
1.
to castrate.
2.
to deprive of strength or vigor; weaken. debilitate, undermine, devitalize, soften.
adjective
3.
deprived of or lacking strength or vigor; effeminate.

Origin:
1600–10; < Latin ēmasculātus (past participle of ēmasculāre), equivalent to ē- e-1 + māscul(us) male + -ātus -ate1

e·mas·cu·la·tion, noun
e·mas·cu·la·tive, adjective
e·mas·cu·la·tor, noun
e·mas·cu·la·to·ry [ih-mas-kyuh-luh-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee] , adjective
self-e·mas·cu·la·tion, noun
un·e·mas·cu·lat·ed, adjective
un·e·mas·cu·la·tive, adjective
un·e·mas·cu·la·to·ry, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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to flee; abscond:
Collins
World English Dictionary
emasculate
 
vb
1.  to remove the testicles of; castrate; geld
2.  to deprive of vigour, effectiveness, etc
3.  botany to remove the stamens from (a flower) to prevent self-pollination for the purposes of plant breeding
 
adj
4.  castrated; gelded
5.  deprived of strength, effectiveness, etc
 
[C17: from Latin ēmasculāre, from masculus male; see masculine]
 
emascu'lation
 
n
 
e'masculative
 
adj
 
e'masculatory
 
adj
 
e'masculator
 
n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

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, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences
The government would probably not have had to emasculate its new measures with clumsy compromises.
Atrazine in the water has been shown to chemically emasculate frogs, turning healthy males into hermaphrodites.
Now television is poised to absorb and emasculate the movies, all in the name of home entertainment.
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