US /ʌnˈmæn/ UK /ʌnˈmæn/
verb Freq #239798

Meanings

  1. 1
    verb

    to deprive someone of courage, composure, or emotional strength

    The scale of the disaster threatened to unman even the most experienced rescuers.

Thesaurus

Synonyms
1 verb · to deprive someone of... unnervedemoralizeoverwhelm
More dishearten
Opposites
Word family
Forms unmanning
Derived forms unmanningunmanned
Related forms nervecouragecomposure

Etymology

Formed from un- in its privative sense and man. Earlier uses included depriving a person of manhood or humanity; the main literary sense is figurative, removing the courage or self-command conventionally associated with being 'manly.'

Topics

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