emascular
/emaskuˈlaɾ/
The English verb 'emasculate' can be translated into Spanish as emascular. If unsure, use debilitar.
Meaning: to deprive of masculine vigor or spirit, to weaken (verb)
Ways to say it
| Spanish | IPA |
|---|---|
| emascular | /emaskuˈlaɾ/ |
| debilitar | /debiliˈtaɾ/ |
The verb is used to describe the act of depriving someone of masculine vigor, spirit or identity.
Which one should you use?
emascular is specifically tied to the loss of masculine identity or vigor. In contrast, debilitar is a more common, general-purpose verb used to mean 'to weaken' in either a physical or metaphorical sense.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
When you use emascular with a direct object, such as a person, you must include the personal 'a', forming the construction emascular a alguien. The past participle emasculado functions as an adjective to describe a person who has been deprived of their masculine vigor.
How do you pronounce it?
/emaskuˈlaɾ/
Did you know?
- While emascular is the direct cognate of 'emasculate', Spanish speakers frequently use castrar in a metaphorical sense to describe the feeling of being weakened or stripped of power.
- Because emascular describes a loss of masculine identity, it is almost never applied to women in Spanish, whereas debilitar is gender-neutral.
- While emascular is a precise term, using it in a figurative sense like 'to weaken a policy' can sound strangely aggressive or biological to a Spanish speaker.
Examples in context
- La situación lo castró, haciéndolo sentir impotente.The situation emasculated him, making him feel powerless.
- La broma que le hicieron lo dejó sin hombría.The joke they played on him emasculated him.
- El exceso de control suele emascular el espíritu del líder.Excessive control tends to emasculate the leader's spirit.
Example conversation
Alejandro and María are discussing a difficult boss.
- AlejandroSiento que mi jefe intenta emascular mi autoridad.I feel like my boss is trying to emasculate my authority.
- MaríaEs verdad, él siempre te interrumpe en las reuniones.It is true, he always interrupts you in meetings.
- AlejandroMe hace sentir débil frente a mis colegas.He makes me feel weak in front of my colleagues.
- MaríaNo dejes que él logre emascular tu confianza, Alejandro.Do not let him manage to emasculate your confidence, Alejandro.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “emasculate” translations and entries emascular, debilitar, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
