castrated
castrated はTOEIC 860・TOEFL 80・IELTS 6.5レベルの英単語で、「去勢された、骨抜きにされた」という意味があります。発音記号は /ˈkæstreɪtɪd/ です。
意味一覧 (2件)
去勢された
解説 Definition
去勢された、つまり生殖能力を失った。特に動物に対して用いられ、去勢手術を受けた状態を表します。
Castrated means that a male animal has had its reproductive organs removed so it cannot reproduce. This is often done in farming or veterinary care for health or behavior reasons. The word can also be used more generally to mean weakened or deprived of power, but that use is less literal.
覚え方のコツ Memory Tip
castrated は castrate「去勢する」の -ed 形で、文字通り「去勢された」という意味です。動物や医学・獣医の文脈で、生殖能力を失わせた状態を直接表します。日常のペットの話では neutered のほうが穏やかで一般的ですが、castrated は処置そのものをはっきり言う語です。a castrated bull や castrated livestock のように、家畜や雄の動物と結び付けて覚えましょう。
This is the "-ed" form of "castrate," so it describes a finished state. Learn the word family together: "castrate," "castrated," and "castration." In everyday animal contexts, compare it with "neutered," which is more common and less direct. Phrases like "a castrated bull" make the literal meaning clear.
例文
The castrated bull was gentle and docile.
去勢された牛は温厚で従順だった。
Castrated animals tend to be less aggressive.
去勢された動物は通常、より攻撃的でない傾向がある。
Many farm animals are castrated for breeding control.
多くの農場動物は繁殖管理のために去勢される。
骨抜きにされた
(意味 2)解説 Definition
力や鋭さ、効果を奪われ、以前より弱くされた状態を表します。法律、提案、批判、組織などが妥協や修正で本来の力を失った時に使われる、やや書き言葉の比喩表現です。人や動物の去勢そのものではなく、権限や効力の低下に焦点があります。
Castrated describes something that has lost its original power, sharpness, or effect and has become weaker than before. It is often used in a figurative way for things like laws, proposals, criticism, or organizations after compromise or changes reduce their strength. Compared with simply saying weak, it suggests that an important force or authority was taken away. This use is more common in formal or critical writing than in everyday conversation.
覚え方のコツ Memory Tip
castrated は castrate に -ed が付いた形で、「力を取り除かれた状態」と考えると比喩義に入りやすいです。簡単な語なら weakened に近いですが、ただ弱いだけでなく、もともとあった権限・効力・鋭さを誰かに奪われた感じがあります。watered-down は「薄められた」に近く、castrated はさらに強く批判的。法案や提案、報告書などが修正で迫力を失った場面でよく使われ、動物の意味とは文脈で切り分けます。
Think of castrated as castrate plus -ed: something has had its power taken away. A simple word close to it is weakened, but castrated is stronger and more critical because it suggests that someone removed the original force or authority. It is often used for a bill, proposal, report, or organization that lost its impact after changes. In context, you can separate this figurative meaning from the literal animal sense.
例文
The final version of the bill was so heavily revised that it felt completely castrated.
その法案の最終版は大幅に修正され、完全に骨抜きにされたように見えた。
Her report was castrated by legal edits, and its strongest criticisms disappeared.
彼女の報告書は法務上の修正で骨抜きにされ、最も鋭い批判が消えてしまった。
What began as a bold reform plan ended up as a castrated compromise that pleased no one.
大胆な改革案として始まったものが、結局は誰も満足しない骨抜きにされた妥協案になった。
castrated の語源・成り立ち Etymology
castratedはラテン語castrare『去勢する』に由来し、英語ではcastrateに過去分詞語尾-edが付いた形です。家畜を繁殖から切り離す操作が原義で、castrateやcastrationも同根なので、『機能を奪われた状態』という感覚が見えてきます。
Castrated comes from the Latin verb castrare, meaning "to castrate," with the English past-participle ending -ed. The original sense was the removal of reproductive power, especially in animals. From that, the word also came to suggest a broader idea of having strength or function taken away; castrate and castration are related forms.
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