Third person singular present tense of emasculate; removes the male reproductive organs from, or weakens and deprives of power.
From emasculate plus -s (verb third person singular marker). Standard conjugation form of the verb.
When someone says an action 'emasculates' a person, they're using a metaphor that originated in biological practice—language shows how medical or physical concepts get metaphorically extended to describe social and emotional situations.
From Latin emasculatus (to deprive of manhood). Entered English by the 16th century with the connotation that loss of 'masculine' power represents degradation or failure. The word etymologically ties power and capability to maleness, implying femininity = weakness.
Use with awareness: when referring to removing male reproductive capability, clinical terms are preferred. When metaphorical (weakening something), choose neutral alternatives like 'weaken', 'undermine', or 'debilitate' to avoid reinforcing that femininity = weakness.
["weakens","debilitates","undermines","reduces power of","deprives of capability"]
The metaphorical use of this word perpetuates the false equation of masculinity with power/capability. Removing this gendered metaphor from language strengthens gender-neutral descriptions of strength and weakness.
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