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unsex

[ uhn-seks ]

/ ʌnˈsɛks /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR unsex ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object)

to deprive of sexual power; render impotent or frigid; spay or castrate.

to deprive (oneself or another) of the proper or appropriate character and qualities of one's sex, as by unnatural conduct.

Origin of unsex

First recorded in 1595–1605; un-² + sex

Words nearby unsex

unset, unsettle, unsettled, unsettlement, unsew, unsex, unshackle, unshadowed, unshakable, unshaken, unshaped

Example sentences from the Web for unsex

George Eliot, as a true artist, sees what is faulty in the catastrophe, but she will not unsex her creation.

Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science, Volume 11, No. 24, March, 1873 |Various
Education, beyond the simple old-fashioned limits, tended only to unsex her.

Mitchelhurst Place, Vol. I (of 2) |Margaret Veley
But the woman is drawn only by one feeling; she does not unsex herself,--she espouses holiness.

Library Of The World's Best Literature, Ancient And Modern, Vol 3 |Various
There be many ways a woman can "unsex" herself, beside lecturing in public.

Folly as It Flies |Fanny Fern

Their unnatural attempt to be wiser than God, and to unsex themselves, had done little but disease their mind and heart.

David |Charles Kingsley

British Dictionary definitions for unsex

unsex

/ (ʌnˈsɛks) /

verb (tr)

mainly literary to deprive (a person) of the attributes of his or her sex, esp to make a woman more callous