to castrate
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to castrate
To surgically remove the sex glands (testicles) of a male living being in order to make it infertile.
Es wird empfohlen, Hauskatzen und Kater kastrieren zu lassen, um unerwünschten Nachwuchs zu vermeiden.
It is recommended to have house cats, both female and male, neutered to avoid unwanted offspring.
to weaken
In a figurative sense: to greatly weaken something in its effect or strip it of its essential content.
Die Opposition warf der Regierung vor, das neue Gesetz durch zu viele Kompromisse kastriert zu haben.
The opposition accused the government of having weakened the new law through too many compromises.
Since the action is usually carried out by a veterinarian, 'kastrieren' (to castrate / neuter) is very often used in a construction with 'lassen' (to have something done). The subject of the sentence is therefore the person who gives the order.
Wir haben unseren Kater letzte Woche kastrieren lassen.
We had our tomcat neutered last week.
In the figurative sense, 'kastrieren' (to weaken / to castrate) means that something important is removed, for example from a law or a plan, thereby greatly weakening it. This use is metaphorical and has a critical undertone.
Die Redaktion hat den kritischen Artikel so stark gekürzt, dass er nun völlig kastriert wirkt.
The editorial team shortened the critical article so much that it now seems completely gutted.
In its figurative meaning, 'kastrieren' (to weaken / to castrate) is often applied to abstract things such as laws, texts, ideas, or proposals.
Die Opposition findet, der Kompromiss habe den ursprünglichen Vorschlag kastriert.
The opposition thinks the compromise weakened the original proposal.
to prune / to restrict
Beschneiden and kastrieren can both refer figuratively to restricting content. Beschneiden means shortening or limiting content or possibilities. Kastrieren is much stronger: essential content is removed, so the result loses a large part of its impact.
Die Redaktion kastrierte den Artikel, indem sie alle wesentlichen Aussagen entfernte.
The editorial team gutted the article by removing all its essential statements.
Die Redaktion beschnitt den Artikel etwas, damit er auf eine Seite passte.
The editorial team shortened the article somewhat so that it would fit on one page.
