noun · 5 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
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/kæˈstɹeɪ.ʃən/
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
rhymes with -eɪʃən
CMU ARPABET:K AE2 S T R EY1 SH AH0 N
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
The act of removing the testicles.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
Topics: medicine, sciences, surgery
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
Any act that removes power from a person (particularly a man) or entity.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, figuratively, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
the deletion of objectionable parts from a literary work
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: expurgation
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: deletion
Narrower terms: bowdlerization, bowdlerisation
4
noun
Meaning 4
surgical removal of the testes or ovaries (usually to inhibit hormone secretion in cases of breast cancer in women or prostate cancer in men)
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
bilateral castration results in sterilization
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: operation, surgery, surgical operation, surgical procedure, surgical process
5
noun
Meaning 5
neutering a male animal by removing the testicles
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: emasculation
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: neutering, fixing, altering
History
Etymology
Etymology tree English castrate Proto-Indo-European *-tis Proto-Indo-European *-Hō Proto-Indo-European *-tiHō Proto-Italic *-tiō Latin -tiō Latin -ātiōlbor. Old French -ationbor. Middle English -acioun English -ation English -ion English castration From castrate + -ion.
Across languages
Translations
58 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Arabic:
إِخْصَاء
(ʔiḵṣāʔ)
— act of removing the testicles
Bulgarian:
кастра́ция
(kastrácija)
— act of removing the testicles
Bulgarian:
скопяване
(skopjavane)
— act of removing the testicles
Catalan:
castració
— act of removing the testicles
Chinese Mandarin:
去勢 /去势
(qùshì)
— act of removing the testicles
Chinese Mandarin:
閹割 /阉割
(yāngē)
— act of removing the testicles
Chinese Mandarin:
腐刑
(fǔxíng)
— act of removing the testicles
Chinese Mandarin:
宮刑 /宫刑
(gōngxíng)
— act of removing the testicles
Czech:
kastrace
— act of removing the testicles
Danish:
kastrering
— act of removing the testicles
Danish:
kastration
— act of removing the testicles
Dutch:
castratie
— act of removing the testicles
Finnish:
kastraatio
— act of removing the testicles
Finnish:
kastrointi
— act of removing the testicles
Finnish:
kuohinta
— act of removing the testicles
Finnish:
kuohiminen
— act of removing the testicles
French:
castration
— act of removing the testicles
German:
Kastrierung
— act of removing the testicles
German:
Hodenentfernung
— act of removing the testicles
Greek:
ευνουχισμός
(evnouchismós)
— act of removing the testicles
Hebrew:
סירוס
(sirus')
— act of removing the testicles
Indonesian:
pengebirian
— act of removing the testicles
Italian:
castrazione
— act of removing the testicles
Japanese:
去勢
(kyosei)
— act of removing the testicles
Japanese:
宮刑
(kyūkei)
— act of removing the testicles
Japanese:
腐刑
(fukei)
— act of removing the testicles
Kazakh:
піштіру
(pıştıru)
— act of removing the testicles
Kazakh:
тарттыру
(tarttyru)
— act of removing the testicles
Korean:
거세
(geose)
— act of removing the testicles
Korean:
궁형
(gunghyeong)
— act of removing the testicles
Latvian:
kastrācija
— act of removing the testicles
Latvian:
kastrēšana
— act of removing the testicles
Malay:
pengasian
— act of removing the testicles
Malay:
pengembirian
— act of removing the testicles
Malayalam:
ഷണ്ഡീകരണം
(ṣaṇḍīkaraṇaṁ)
— act of removing the testicles
Malayalam:
വരി ഉടയ്ക്കൽ
(vari uṭaykkal)
— act of removing the testicles
Norwegian Bokmål:
kastrasjon
— act of removing the testicles
Norwegian Bokmål:
kastrering
— act of removing the testicles
Norwegian Nynorsk:
kastrasjon
— act of removing the testicles
Norwegian Nynorsk:
kastrering
— act of removing the testicles
Polish:
kastracja
— act of removing the testicles
Portuguese:
castração
— act of removing the testicles
Romanian:
castrație
— act of removing the testicles
Romanian:
castrare
— act of removing the testicles
Russian:
кастра́ция
(kastrácija)
— act of removing the testicles
Scottish Gaelic:
spothadh
— act of removing the testicles
Spanish:
castración
— act of removing the testicles
Swedish:
kastrering
— act of removing the testicles
Turkish:
burma
— act of removing the testicles
Turkish:
eneme
— act of removing the testicles
Turkish:
kastrasyon
— act of removing the testicles
Turkish:
iğdiş etme
— act of removing the testicles
Vietnamese:
sự thiến
— act of removing the testicles
Bulgarian:
обезсилване
(obezsilvane)
— figurative: removal of power
Danish:
kastrering
— figurative: removal of power
Danish:
kastration
— figurative: removal of power
Greek:
ευνουχισμός
(evnouchismós)
— figurative: removal of power
Japanese:
去勢
(kyosei)
— figurative: removal of power
