Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word
unsex. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
unsex, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
unsex in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
unsex you have here. The definition of the word
unsex will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
unsex, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
English
Etymology
From un- + sex.
Pronunciation
Verb
unsex (third-person singular simple present unsexes, present participle unsexing, simple past and past participle unsexed)
- (transitive) To deprive of sexual attributes or characteristics.
c. 1606 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies (First Folio), London: Isaac Iaggard, and Ed Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, :Lady Macbeth: Come, you spirits
That tend on mortal thoughts! unsex me here,
And fill me from the crown to the toe full
Of direst cruelty:
c. 1920–1925 [458 BCE], Geoffrey Montague Cookson, transl., Agamemnon, translation of original by Aeschylus:The Sea-king, Ravisher of Ilium
Knows not her false and slavering tongue, thrust out,
Lewd bitch, to lick and fawn and smile and be
The secret soul of unforgiving hell!
Dare it, She-devil! Unsex thyself, and be His murderess!
1935 April, William Faulkner, “Skirmish at Sartoris”, in The Unvanquished, New York, N.Y.: Random House, published 1938, →OCLC; republished in The Unvanquished: The Corrected Text, New York, N.Y.: Vintage Books, October 1991, →ISBN, section 1, page 189:[…] she had expected the worst ever since Drusilla had deliberately tried to unsex herself by refusing to feel any natural grief at the death in battle not only of her affianced husband but of her own father […]
- (transitive) To sterilize (deprive of the ability to procreate); to castrate.
Anagrams