Dictionary

feminize en · VERB

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio
• /ˈfemənaɪz/ (New-Zealand)
• /ˈfɛmɪnaɪz/ (Canada, General-American, Received-Pronunciation)
• [ˈfemɪnɑe̯z] (New-Zealand)
• /ˈfemənɑez/ (Australia)

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁(y)-der. Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁-m̥h₁n-éh₂ Proto-Italic *θēmanā Proto-Italic *fēmanā Latin fēmina Proto-Indo-European *-id- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-idyéti Proto-Hellenic *-íd͏̌d͏̌ō Ancient Greek -ῐ́ζω (-ĭ́zō)bor. Late Latin -izōder. Middle French -iserbor. Middle English -isen English -ize English feminize From Latin fēmina (“woman, female”) + English -ize.

Meanings

1. (transitive) To make (more) feminine.
   • For a start, it feminizes Tarquin by drawing on the conventional gendering of the human soul as female (Donne's 'Batter my heart . . .' offers an obvious but interesting comparison), and implies that his physical assault on Lucrece has both offended against his own body and contaminated, almost violated, his spiritual and 'female' self. Rape has almost been self-rape. 2014, A. D. Cousins, Shakespeare's Sonnets and Narrative Poems, →ISBN, page 84:
   • Parabiosis experiments on primitive vertebrates showed inversion of sex in either direction, males were feminized and females masculinized. 1962, Human Intersex, D J B Ashley:
   • The comedies work in very obvious ways to feminize this socially-ominous triad of young fops, old lechers, and greedy businessmen. 2000, Deborah Payne Fisk, The Cambridge Companion to English Restoration Theatre, page 202:
   • Surgical interventions for gender dysphoria, according to WPATH, can include feminizing or masculinizing hormone therapy, voice therapy, chest augmentation and reduction, or genital surgery. 2018 May 31, Emanuella Grinberg, “What is medically necessary treatment for gender-affirming health care?”, in CNN:
2. (intransitive) To become (more) feminine.

Forms

Antonyms

masculise · masculize · masculinize · masculinise

Deriveds

defeminize · feminization · overfeminize · refeminize · feminizable · feminizer · unfeminize

Synonyms

femalize

Translations (37)

it femminilizzare (to make (more) feminine) · gl feminizarse (to become (more) feminine) · el εκθηλύνομαι (to become (more) feminine) · sv feminisera (to make (more) feminine) · de feminisieren (to make (more) feminine) · sv feminiseras (to become (more) feminine) · ca feminitzar (to make (more) feminine) · fi naisellistaa (to make (more) feminine) · pl ukobiecić się (to become (more) feminine) · la effēminō (to make (more) feminine) · ko 여성화(女性化)되다 (to become (more) feminine) · el εκθηλύνω (to make (more) feminine) · fi naisistua (to become (more) feminine) · es feminizar (to make (more) feminine) · la molliō (to make (more) feminine) · la ēnervō (to make (more) feminine) · pl ukobiecić (to make (more) feminine) · de verweiblichen (to make (more) feminine) · fi naisellistua (to become (more) feminine) · bg феминизирам се (to become (more) feminine) · de feminisieren (to become (more) feminine) · bg феминизирам (to make (more) feminine) · pl ukobiecać (to make (more) feminine) · pl sfeminizować się (to become (more) feminine) · ko 여성화(女性化)하다 (to make (more) feminine) · pt feminizarse (to become (more) feminine) · fr féminiser (to make (more) feminine) · pt feminizar (to make (more) feminine) · ca feminitzar-se (to become (more) feminine) · gl feminizar (to make (more) feminine) · ar أَنَّثَ (to make (more) feminine) · pl sfeminizować (to make (more) feminine) · la effēminō (to become (more) feminine) · es feminizarse (to become (more) feminine) · de verweiblichen (to become (more) feminine) · pl feminizować (to make (more) feminine) · hu nőiessé tesz (to make (more) feminine)