What does unsexed mean?
Unsexed is an adjective meaning deprived of sexual characteristics, potency, or reproductive function. It is especially common in biological and zoological writing, where it may describe an animal or insect lacking developed reproductive organs, the ability to reproduce, or normal sexual differentiation. The word can also describe a person as having been made impotent or stripped of perceived sexual characteristics, though such usage may sound archaic, clinical, or objectifying. Unsexed should not necessarily be understood as synonymous with castrated: the broader term can indicate an absence of sexual function without specifying how that absence was produced. In contrast, unisex refers to clothing, products, or designs intended for people of any sex rather than to something deprived of sexual attributes. Unsexed is also used as the past tense and past participle of the verb unsex, meaning to deprive something of sexual potency or characteristics.
Deprived of sexual characteristics, potency, or reproductive function.
"The unsexed animals lacked both male and female reproductive anatomy."
In zoology, the term may describe an organism lacking developed reproductive organs or the ability to reproduce; it does not always imply physical castration.
To deprive of sexual attributes, potency, or reproductive function.
"The technician unsexed each specimen before studying tissue growth."
This inflected form of the verb unsex is relatively uncommon outside specialist or historical contexts.
In biology, an unsexed organism may lack reproductive function without necessarily being anatomically malformed.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does unsexed come from?
Unsexed was formed in English by adding the privative prefix un- to sexed. The related English verb unsex follows the same pattern, meaning to deprive of sexual potency or characteristics. The underlying word sex was borrowed from Latin sexus, a term associated with sex, kind, or nature; that Latin root also underlies English words such as sexual, sexuality, and sexy.
Related word forms
How unsexed is actually used
The word is more usual in specialist biological, zoological, and historical contexts than in everyday speech. Applied to people, it can sound archaic or objectifying, particularly when referring to the suppression of gender expression or sexual identity.
Easily confused with unsexed
Unsexed describes something deprived of sexual attributes or function, whereas unisex describes clothing, products, or design intended for people of any sex.