To make effeminate; to cause someone to become unmanly or to adopt feminine characteristics.
A back-formation and re-verbing of 'effeminate' with the productive English verb-making suffix '-ize.' This is a relatively modern creation (likely 19th or 20th century) built on the existing adjective.
This verb is actually quite rare because 'effeminate' already works as a verb, so making 'effeminatize' is kind of redundant—it's the kind of word that would-be fancy speakers invented but English just never really adopted.
Verb form implying causative action ('to make effeminate'), used historically in contexts of cultural anxiety about masculinity—implying femininity is an external threat or corruption.
Avoid. Use 'to adopt feminine expression' or 'to express gender nonconformity' if needed.
["to adopt feminine expression","to express gender nonconformity"]
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