emasculating

verb

present participle of emasculate
as in paralyzing
to deprive of courage or confidence being eliminated early in one's very first tennis tournament can be an emasculating experience

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for emasculating
  1. paralyzing
  2. intimidating
  3. frightening
  4. terrifying
  5. scaring
Verb
  • National Guardsmen marched in the paralyzing heat, which, along with the shadows cast by a revolving sculpture in the courtyard, suggested the eerie calm before the gunfight in a Western.
    — Julian Lucas, New Yorker, 20 Aug. 2026
  • Responsible deployment does not require paralyzing every use case.
    — Stephen Messer, Fortune, 15 Aug. 2026
Definition of paralyzing
Verb
  • Pearce is by turns low-key hilarious and intimidating as the unerringly sure-of-himself businessman, peppering his conversation with colorful Australianisms and profanity while never relaxing his laser focus.
    — David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 2 Sep. 2026
  • The Basij boosted its presence during the war, and hard-liners have held nightly rallies in Tehran and other cities, drumming up support and intimidating any possible dissenters.
    — Lee Keath, Fortune, 29 Aug. 2026
Definition of intimidating
Verb
  • Powell tried to open the stall door, and then began fondling himself, frightening the 11-year-old, who tried to leave, but Powell blocked him from getting out.
    — Todd Feurer, CBS News, 6 June 2026
  • This war has been a disaster for them, frightening away foreign investors, tourists and talent and burdening them with a future of huge new defense bills to deter Iran after the United States is gone.
    — Thomas L. Friedman, Mercury News, 15 May 2026
Definition of frightening
Verb
  • For Thomas, unpacking what went wrong goes well beyond the headless bodies, terrifying phone calls and dead ends.
    — Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 20 Aug. 2026
  • Spotify is terrifying much of the podcast industry with a tiny little widget.
    — Max Tani, semafor.com, 9 Aug. 2026
Definition of terrifying
Verb
  • Few griz/hunter interactions ever move beyond the scaring stage.
    — Ron Spomer, Outdoor Life, 19 Aug. 2026
  • Be a menace to people in the community, driving his boat 70 to 80 miles per hour, driving around scaring the heck out of people, taking people's lives.
    — Lauren Victory, CBS News, 6 Aug. 2026
Definition of scaring

Browse Nearby Words

emasculates
emasculating
emasculation
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Cite this Entry

“Emasculating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/emasculating. Accessed 5 Sep. 2026.

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