Meanings
present singular third person feminizes · participle present feminizing · participle past feminized · past feminized · alternative femininize · alternative femininise · alternative feminise
- transitiveTo make (more) feminine.
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 2023 more examples
Parabiosis experiments on primitive vertebrates showed inversion of sex in either direction, males were feminized and females masculinized.
1962, Human Intersex, D J B AshleyFor 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 84Surgical 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 - intransitiveTo become (more) feminine.
Synonyms & antonyms
verbto give a (more) feminine, effeminate, or womanly quality or appearance to
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*dʰeh₁(y)-
- Proto-Indo-European*dʰeh₁-m̥h₁n-éh₂
- Proto-Italic*θēmanā
- Proto-Italic*fēmanā
- Latinfēmina
- Englishfeminize
From Latin fēmina (“woman, female”) + English -ize.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic أَنَّثَ
- أَنَّثَ (ʔannaṯa)to make (more) feminine
Bulgarian феминизирам, феминизирам се
- феминизирам (feminiziram)to make (more) feminine
- феминизирам се (feminiziram se)to become (more) feminine
Catalan feminitzar, feminitzar-se
- feminitzarto make (more) feminine
- feminitzar-seto become (more) feminine
Finnish naisellistaa, naisellistua
- naisellistaato make (more) feminine
- naisellistuato become (more) feminine
- naisistuato become (more) feminine
French féminiser
- féminiserto make (more) feminine
German feminisieren, verweiblichen
- feminisierento make (more) feminine
- verweiblichento make (more) feminine
- feminisierento become (more) feminine
- verweiblichento become (more) feminine
Greek εκθηλύνω, εκθηλύνομαι
- εκθηλύνω (ekthilýno)to make (more) feminine
- εκθηλύνομαι (ekthilýnomai)to become (more) feminine
Hungarian nőiessé tesz
- nőiessé teszto make (more) feminine
Italian femminilizzare
- femminilizzareto make (more) feminine
Korean 여성화(女性化)하다, 여성화(女性化)되다
- 여성화(女性化)하다 (yeoseonghwahada)to make (more) feminine
- 여성화(女性化)되다 (yeoseonghwadoeda)to become (more) feminine
Latin effēminō, molliō
- effēminōto make (more) feminine
- molliōto make (more) feminine
- ēnervōto make (more) feminine
- effēminōto become (more) feminine
Polish feminizować, sfeminizować
- feminizowaćto make (more) feminine
- sfeminizowaćto make (more) feminine
- ukobiecaćto make (more) feminine
- ukobiecićto make (more) feminine
- sfeminizować sięto become (more) feminine
- ukobiecić sięto become (more) feminine
Portuguese feminizar, feminizarse
- feminizarto make (more) feminine
- feminizarseto become (more) feminine
Spanish feminizar, feminizarse
- feminizarto make (more) feminine
- feminizarseto become (more) feminine
Swedish feminisera, feminiseras
- feminiserato make (more) feminine
- feminiserasto become (more) feminine
Cite this entry
feminize. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/feminize
“feminize.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/feminize. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “feminize,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/feminize.
Source: feminize on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.