Standard Lemma guide

emasculate

adj · verb · 8 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

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ɪˈmask.jʊ.lət/
  • Received-Pronunciation: /ɪˈmask.jə.lət/
  • General-American: ĭ.măsʹkyə.lət
  • General-American: /əˈmæs.kjəˌleɪt/
  • General-American: /iˈmæs.kjə.lət/
  • Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • Received-Pronunciation: /ɪˈmask.jʊlˌeɪt/
  • Received-Pronunciation: /ɪˈmask.jəˌleɪt/
  • General-American: ĭ.măsʹkyə.lāt'
  • General-American: /iˈmæs.kjəˌleɪt/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: AH0 M AE1 S K Y UW0 L IH0 T Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
  • CMU ARPABET 2: AH0 M AE1 S K Y UW0 L EY2 T Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Deprived of virility or vigor; unmanned, weak.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

verb

Meaning 2

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

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: transitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: unman

Antonyms: none provided

3

verb

Meaning 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).

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: specifically, transitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: unman

Antonyms: none provided

4

verb

Meaning 4

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

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: transitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: unman, debilitate, demasculate, enervate, enfeeble

Antonyms: empower, invigorate, masculate, strengthen

5

verb

Meaning 5

Of a flower: to deprive of the anthers.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: transitive

Topics: biology, botany, natural-sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

adjective satellite

Meaning 6

having unsuitable feminine qualities

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: effeminate, epicene, cissy, sissified, sissyish, sissy

Antonyms: none provided

7

verb

Meaning 7

remove the testicles of a male animal

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: castrate, demasculinize, demasculinise

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: sterilize, sterilise, desex, unsex, desexualize, desexualise, fix

Narrower terms: caponize, caponise, geld, cut

8

verb

Meaning 8

deprive of strength or vigor

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • The Senate emasculated the law

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: castrate

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: weaken

History

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Medieval Latin ēmasculātus (more at Etymology 1), see -ate (adjective-forming suffix).

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).

Across languages

Translations

46 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: скопен (skopen) — deprived of virility or vigor
  • Bulgarian: кастриран (kastriran) — deprived of virility or vigor
  • Dutch: ontmand — deprived of virility or vigor
  • French: émasculé — deprived of virility or vigor
  • Galician: emasculado — deprived of virility or vigor
  • German: entmannt — deprived of virility or vigor
  • Italian: evirato — deprived of virility or vigor
  • Malay: kembiri — deprived of virility or vigor
  • Malay: kasi — deprived of virility or vigor
  • Occitan: desmasclat — deprived of virility or vigor
  • Occitan: castrat — deprived of virility or vigor
  • Occitan: crestat — deprived of virility or vigor
  • Portuguese: emasculado — deprived of virility or vigor
  • Portuguese: castrado — deprived of virility or vigor
  • Spanish: emasculado — deprived of virility or vigor
  • Spanish: castrado — deprived of virility or vigor
  • Spanish: debilitado — deprived of virility or vigor
  • Turkish: burulmuş — deprived of virility or vigor
  • Turkish: enenmiş — deprived of virility or vigor
  • Turkish: hadım edilmiş — deprived of virility or vigor
  • Volapük: penegenüköl — deprived of virility or vigor
  • Bulgarian: скопявам (skopjavam) — to deprive of virile or procreative power; to castrate
  • Bulgarian: кастрирам (kastriram) — to deprive of virile or procreative power; to castrate
  • Catalan: emascular — to deprive of virile or procreative power; to castrate
  • Finnish: kuohita — to deprive of virile or procreative power; to castrate
  • French: émasculer — to deprive of virile or procreative power; to castrate
  • German: entmannen — to deprive of virile or procreative power; to castrate
  • Ido: desmaskuligar — to deprive of virile or procreative power; to castrate
  • Irish: coill — to deprive of virile or procreative power; to castrate
  • Japanese: 去勢する (kyosei suru) — to deprive of virile or procreative power; to castrate
  • Māori: unaka — to deprive of virile or procreative power; to castrate
  • Old English: belisnian — to deprive of virile or procreative power; to castrate
  • Spanish: emascular — to deprive of virile or procreative power; to castrate
  • Spanish: castrar — to deprive of virile or procreative power; to castrate
  • Turkish: kısır yapmak — to deprive of virile or procreative power; to castrate
  • Bulgarian: обезсилвам (obezsilvam) — to deprive of masculine vigor or spirit; to weaken
  • Catalan: emascular — to deprive of masculine vigor or spirit; to weaken
  • Finnish: veltostaa — to deprive of masculine vigor or spirit; to weaken
  • Finnish: heikentää — to deprive of masculine vigor or spirit; to weaken
  • German: schwächen — to deprive of masculine vigor or spirit; to weaken
  • Ido: desmaskuligar — to deprive of masculine vigor or spirit; to weaken
  • Japanese: 去勢する (kyosei suru) — to deprive of masculine vigor or spirit; to weaken
  • Spanish: emascular — to deprive of masculine vigor or spirit; to weaken
  • Spanish: debilitar — to deprive of masculine vigor or spirit; to weaken
  • Spanish: feminizar — to deprive of masculine vigor or spirit; to weaken
  • Turkish: zayıf düşürmek — to deprive of masculine vigor or spirit; to weaken