emasculate

1. (transitive) To deprive of virile or procreative power; to castrate, to geld.Examples: "Castration has a ſtrange effect; it emaſculates both man, beaſt and bird, and brings them to a near reſemblance of the other ſex. Thus, eunuchs have ſmooth unmuſcular arms, thighs, and legs; and broad hips, and beardleſs chins, and ſqueaking voices. Gelt stags and bucks have hornleſs heads, like hinds and does."; "At Athens the Prieſts and Prieſteſſes were drawn by lot, from the men and virgins of diſtinguiſhed family and irreproachable life. Maimed or deformed perſons were not admitted, and purity and chaſtity were ſo particularly required, that the Prieſts frequently uſed means to emaſculate themselves."Synonyms: unmantransitive

2. (transitive) To deprive of virile or procreative power; to castrate, to geld.Synonyms: unmanspecificallytransitive

3. (transitive) To deprive of masculine vigor or spirit; to weaken; to render effeminate; to vitiate by unmanly softness.Examples: "[H]is Majeſty [...] is now reſolved (in proſecution of his priſtine Counſels) by force or policy to diſſolve this Parliament in diſcontent, as he hath done all former, and that with ſuch advantages of a generall ill opinion of Parliaments in the ignorant miſ-informed vulgar on the one hand, and of a prevailing counquering power on his part on the other hand, as ſhall either utterly extinguiſh the hopes and Bill of ſummoning any future trienniall Parliamentary Aſſemblies, or at leaſt ſo emaſculate the vigour, and eclipſe the power of them, if called; [...]"; "A hardy race, in ungenial climates, with nerves ſtrung by the northern blaſt, though little refined by knowledge, felt in an early age, the ſentiments of manly virtue, and ſpurned the baſeneſs of ſlavery. Luxury had not emaſculated their minds; and they threw off, with native elaſticity, the burden of unjuſt dominion."; "[I]f luxury emaſculate the minds of the nobility, enervate the ſinews of the people, render money, and not merit, the paſſport to authority, and, inſtead of the ſtrong and natural ſupport of native valour, ſubſtitute the weak and inefficient prop of mercenary aid: of ſuch a ſtate, however extenſive may be its Commerce, however ample its revenue, the ruin is inevitable."Synonyms: unman, debilitate, demasculate, enervate, enfeebleAntonyms: empower, invigorate, masculate, strengthentransitive

4. (transitive, botany) Of a flower: to deprive of the anthers.Examples: "It is well understood that in artificial cross-fertilizing, in order to prevent self-fecundation, we emasculate the flower from which we wish to obtain the seeds for new varieties; that is, we remove the anthers from that flower, and in the proper season apply to the stigma the pollen from some other distinct flower."; "Legume flowers are emasculated by removing the corolla, staminal tube, and anthers with small forceps, leaving the pistil intact. Anthers and pollen are sometimes removed from flowers with suction, washed off with a jet of water, or killed by immersing the flower in an alcohol solution or hot water. In crops that have a high degree of self-sterility, such as red clover, it may be unnecessary to emasculate, especially if the pollen parent has a dominant marker gene so that plants originating by self-pollination may be identified."transitive