Meanings
-
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
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.'