as in paralyzing
to deprive of courage or confidence
being eliminated early in one's very first tennis tournament can be an emasculating experience
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Recent Examples of emasculating
In the political sphere—an arena that’s increasingly entangled with social media—figures such as Elon Musk decry empathy as an emasculating plague.
—
Katy Waldman, New Yorker, 12 Jan. 2026
And yet precisely this dynamic ensures that commitment between men, the kind of domesticity that David and Giovanni attempt to establish in Giovanni’s room, can only ever be emasculating.
—Garth Greenwell, Harpers Magazine, 19 Sep. 2025
Katy Waldman, New Yorker, 12 Jan. 2026
And yet precisely this dynamic ensures that commitment between men, the kind of domesticity that David and Giovanni attempt to establish in Giovanni’s room, can only ever be emasculating.
—Garth Greenwell, Harpers Magazine, 19 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for emasculating
Verb
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At age 14, Arias was caught in the crossfire of a shootout between rival gangs, paralyzing him from the waist down.—
Kayla Hayempour,
NBC news,
8 Mar. 2026
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In a region where weather swings from paralyzing ice storms to scorching summers, these elements carry weight.—
Mary Grace Granados
Special Contributor,
Dallas Morning News,
5 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Lemon entered a not guilty plea in February, per The New York Times, after facing charges of conspiracy against religious freedom at a place of worship and injuring, intimidating and interfering with the exercise of the right of religious freedom at a place of worship.—
Brenton Blanchet,
PEOPLE,
3 Apr. 2026
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Elected officials say an Orland Park resident recently charged with threatening and intimidating them was behind campaigns of robocalls and other communications that targeted them and their families.—
Olivia Stevens,
Chicago Tribune,
2 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Clumsiness notwithstanding, bringing a criminal case against a journalist who was reporting on a protest is an authoritarian tactic—a means of frightening the press away from uncovering the truth.—
Quinta Jurecic,
The Atlantic,
30 Jan. 2026
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But monks there complained that the slain king was walking around at night, frightening them with strange sounds.—
Rivka Galchen,
New Yorker,
7 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The air in the room changed immediately, terrifying little Liza.—
Elisabeth Garber-Paul,
Rolling Stone,
14 Mar. 2026
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Pic was written and directed by horror filmmaker Ian Tuason, and follows the host (Nina Kiri) of a popular paranormal podcast who becomes haunted by terrifying recordings mysteriously sent her way.—
Anthony D'Alessandro,
Deadline,
10 Mar. 2026
Verb
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During the first phase, last spring, before DHS got the infusion of new money, Noem led a shock-and-awe campaign aimed mostly at scaring people into leaving.—
Nick Miroff,
The Atlantic,
27 Mar. 2026
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At the time, local hunters blamed the Ping for scaring away game.—
Andrew Coletti,
Popular Science,
26 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Emasculating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/emasculating. Accessed 5 Apr. 2026.
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