unman

present singular third person unmans · participle present unmanning · participle past unmanned · past unmanned

1. archaictransitiveTo divest of humanity.

   Unman not therefore thy self by a beastial transformation, nor realize old Fables.

   1881, Sir Thomas Browne, William Alexander Greenhill, Religio Medici; Letter to a Friend; Christian Morals, page 215

2. archaictransitiveTo castrate; to remove the manhood of.

   He unmanned himself under a pine-tree and bled to death on the spot.

   1906, James George Frazer, Attis, Otis, Osiris, volume 1, page 264

   Synonyms: emasculate

3. figurativelytransitiveTo sap (a person) of the strength, whether physical or emotional, required to deal with a situation.

   I hope to God his theories will not unman him in action, that he will not be musing and refining when he should be leading the Jacks […]

   1855, William Delafield Arnold, Oakfield: Or, Fellowship in the East, page 280

   2 more examples

   He dressed moodily, and left the room to go down to breakfast. Breakfast would at least alleviate this sinking feeling which was unmanning him.

   1919 May 10 – June 28, Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, “A Damsel in Distress”, in George Horace Lorimer, editor, The Saturday Evening Post, volume 191, Philadelphia, Pa.: The Curtis Publishing Company, →ISSN

   Meta has created a vision of life in which, without A.I. aiding his every word, an individual can be left reeling by the simplest of human interactions, unmanned by an ordinary dad joke.

   2025 June 25, Ismail Muhammad, “Why Does Every Commercial for A.I. Think You’re a Moron?”, in The New York Times, →ISSN

   Synonyms: emasculate

4. transitiveTo deprive of men.