"declaw" meaning in English

See declaw in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Verb

IPA: /diːˈklɔː/ [UK] Forms: declaws [present, singular, third-person], declawing [participle, present], declawed [participle, past], declawed [past]
Rhymes: -ɔː Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *de Proto-Indo-European *-h₁ Proto-Indo-European *déh₁ Proto-Italic *dē Latin dē Latin dē-der. English de- English claw English declaw From de- + claw. Etymology templates: {{ety|en|:af|de-|claw|text=+|tree=1}} Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *de Proto-Indo-European *-h₁ Proto-Indo-European *déh₁ Proto-Italic *dē Latin dē Latin dē-der. English de- English claw English declaw [Appendix:Glossary#derived_terms|Derived]] from", "terms" : [ { "children" : [ { "terms" : [ { "id" : "of", "children" : [ { "terms" : [ { "children" : [ { "terms" : [ { "children" : [ { "terms" : [ { "children" : [ ], "lang_name" : "Proto-Indo-European", "term" : "*de", "status" : "ok", "lang" : "ine-pro" }, { "children" : [ ], "lang_name" : "Proto-Indo-European", "term" : "*-h₁", "status" : "missing", "lang" : "ine-pro" } ], "keyword_label" : "From", "is_group" : true, "keyword" : "affix" } ], "lang_name" : "Proto-Indo-European", "term" : "*déh₁", "status" : "ok", "lang" : "ine-pro" } ], "keyword_label" : "Inherited from", "keyword" : "inherited" } ], "lang_name" : "Proto-Italic", "term" : "*dē", "status" : "inline", "lang" : "itc-pro" } ], "keyword_label" : "Inherited from", "keyword" : "inherited" } ], "status" : "ok", "lang_name" : "Latin", "term" : "dē", "lang" : "la" } ], "keyword_label" : "From", "keyword" : "from" } ], "lang_name" : "Latin", "term" : "dē-", "status" : "ok", "lang" : "la" } ], "keyword" : "derived" } ], "lang_name" : "English", "term" : "de-", "status" : "ok", "lang" : "en" }, { "children" : [ ], "lang_name" : "English", "term" : "claw", "status" : "missing", "lang" : "en" } ], "keyword_label" : "From", "is_group" : true, "keyword" : "affix" } ], "lang_name" : "English", "term" : "declaw", "status" : "ok", "lang" : "en" }" data-lang="en" data-title="declaw"> From de- + claw. Head templates: {{en-verb}} declaw (third-person singular simple present declaws, present participle declawing, simple past and past participle declawed)
  1. (transitive, veterinary medicine) To surgically remove the claws of (an animal); to perform onychectomy on. Tags: transitive
    Sense id: en-declaw-en-verb-xo7GG0SZ Categories (other): Veterinary medicine, English entries referencing missing etymons, English entries with etymology texts, English entries with etymology trees, English entries with incorrect language header, English terms prefixed with de-, Pages using etymon with no ID, Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries, Pages with etymology trees, Amputation Disambiguation of English entries referencing missing etymons: 64 36 Disambiguation of English entries with etymology texts: 77 23 Disambiguation of English entries with etymology trees: 77 23 Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 79 21 Disambiguation of English terms prefixed with de-: 46 54 Disambiguation of Pages using etymon with no ID: 76 24 Disambiguation of Pages with 1 entry: 83 17 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 86 14 Disambiguation of Pages with etymology trees: 83 17 Disambiguation of Amputation: 45 55 Topics: biology, medicine, natural-sciences, pathology, sciences, veterinary, zoology
  2. (transitive, figuratively) To make harmless; to remove the power, authority, or force from. Tags: figuratively, transitive
    Sense id: en-declaw-en-verb-yC4t891Q Categories (other): English terms prefixed with de-, Amputation Disambiguation of English terms prefixed with de-: 46 54 Disambiguation of Amputation: 45 55
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Related terms: declawing

Inflected forms

{
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":af",
        "3": "de-",
        "4": "claw",
        "text": "+",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *de\nProto-Indo-European *-h₁\nProto-Indo-European *déh₁\nProto-Italic *dē\nLatin dē\nLatin dē-der.\nEnglish de-\nEnglish claw\nEnglish declaw\n[Appendix:Glossary#derived_terms|Derived]] from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"of\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*de\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" }, { \"children\" : [ ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*-h₁\", \"status\" : \"missing\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"is_group\" : true, \"keyword\" : \"affix\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*déh₁\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Italic\", \"term\" : \"*dē\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"lang\" : \"itc-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Latin\", \"term\" : \"dē\", \"lang\" : \"la\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"keyword\" : \"from\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Latin\", \"term\" : \"dē-\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"la\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"derived\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"de-\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }, { \"children\" : [ ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"claw\", \"status\" : \"missing\", \"lang\" : \"en\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"is_group\" : true, \"keyword\" : \"affix\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"declaw\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"declaw\">\nFrom de- + claw.",
      "name": "ety"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *de\nProto-Indo-European *-h₁\nProto-Indo-European *déh₁\nProto-Italic *dē\nLatin dē\nLatin dē-der.\nEnglish de-\nEnglish claw\nEnglish declaw\nFrom de- + claw.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "declaws",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "declawing",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "declawed",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "declawed",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "declaw (third-person singular simple present declaws, present participle declawing, simple past and past participle declawed)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "related": [
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "word": "declawing"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Veterinary medicine",
          "orig": "en:Veterinary medicine",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "64 36",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries referencing missing etymons",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "77 23",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with etymology texts",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "77 23",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with etymology trees",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "79 21",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "46 54",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English terms prefixed with de-",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "76 24",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages using etymon with no ID",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "83 17",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "86 14",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "83 17",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with etymology trees",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "45 55",
          "kind": "other",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Amputation",
          "orig": "en:Amputation",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              73,
              79
            ],
            [
              73,
              81
            ],
            [
              121,
              127
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "2025 October 20, Kai Arellano, “New California law prohibits declawing cats”, in CapRadio, archived from the original on 25 Oct 2025:",
          "text": "On Oct. 9, Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill that bans cats from being declawed statewide. Veterinarians can no longer declaw cats even if an owner wants the procedure to be done.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To surgically remove the claws of (an animal); to perform onychectomy on."
      ],
      "id": "en-declaw-en-verb-xo7GG0SZ",
      "links": [
        [
          "veterinary medicine",
          "veterinary medicine"
        ],
        [
          "remove",
          "remove"
        ],
        [
          "claw",
          "claw"
        ],
        [
          "onychectomy",
          "onychectomy"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(transitive, veterinary medicine) To surgically remove the claws of (an animal); to perform onychectomy on."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "transitive"
      ],
      "topics": [
        "biology",
        "medicine",
        "natural-sciences",
        "pathology",
        "sciences",
        "veterinary",
        "zoology"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "46 54",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English terms prefixed with de-",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "45 55",
          "kind": "other",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Amputation",
          "orig": "en:Amputation",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              28,
              36
            ]
          ],
          "text": "The acerbic comedy has been declawed by the demands of network TV.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              103,
              111
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "2016 January 25, “Why Arabs would regret a toothless Chinese dragon”, in The National, archived from the original on 10 Jul 2024, retrieved 25 Jan 2016:",
          "text": "If, when the moment arrives, China is unwilling to side with its allies, the Arabs will rapidly find a declawed Chinese dragon unwelcome.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To make harmless; to remove the power, authority, or force from."
      ],
      "id": "en-declaw-en-verb-yC4t891Q",
      "links": [
        [
          "harmless",
          "harmless"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(transitive, figuratively) To make harmless; to remove the power, authority, or force from."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "figuratively",
        "transitive"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/diːˈklɔː/",
      "tags": [
        "UK"
      ]
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-ɔː"
    }
  ],
  "word": "declaw"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "English entries referencing missing etymons",
    "English entries with etymology texts",
    "English entries with etymology trees",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European word *de",
    "English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European word *déh₁",
    "English terms prefixed with de-",
    "English verbs",
    "Pages using etymon with no ID",
    "Pages with 1 entry",
    "Pages with entries",
    "Pages with etymology trees",
    "Rhymes:English/ɔː",
    "Rhymes:English/ɔː/2 syllables",
    "en:Amputation"
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":af",
        "3": "de-",
        "4": "claw",
        "text": "+",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *de\nProto-Indo-European *-h₁\nProto-Indo-European *déh₁\nProto-Italic *dē\nLatin dē\nLatin dē-der.\nEnglish de-\nEnglish claw\nEnglish declaw\n[Appendix:Glossary#derived_terms|Derived]] from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"of\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*de\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" }, { \"children\" : [ ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*-h₁\", \"status\" : \"missing\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"is_group\" : true, \"keyword\" : \"affix\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*déh₁\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Italic\", \"term\" : \"*dē\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"lang\" : \"itc-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Latin\", \"term\" : \"dē\", \"lang\" : \"la\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"keyword\" : \"from\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Latin\", \"term\" : \"dē-\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"la\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"derived\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"de-\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }, { \"children\" : [ ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"claw\", \"status\" : \"missing\", \"lang\" : \"en\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"is_group\" : true, \"keyword\" : \"affix\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"declaw\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"declaw\">\nFrom de- + claw.",
      "name": "ety"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *de\nProto-Indo-European *-h₁\nProto-Indo-European *déh₁\nProto-Italic *dē\nLatin dē\nLatin dē-der.\nEnglish de-\nEnglish claw\nEnglish declaw\nFrom de- + claw.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "declaws",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "declawing",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "declawed",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "declawed",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "declaw (third-person singular simple present declaws, present participle declawing, simple past and past participle declawed)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "declawing"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with quotations",
        "English transitive verbs",
        "en:Veterinary medicine"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              73,
              79
            ],
            [
              73,
              81
            ],
            [
              121,
              127
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "2025 October 20, Kai Arellano, “New California law prohibits declawing cats”, in CapRadio, archived from the original on 25 Oct 2025:",
          "text": "On Oct. 9, Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill that bans cats from being declawed statewide. Veterinarians can no longer declaw cats even if an owner wants the procedure to be done.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To surgically remove the claws of (an animal); to perform onychectomy on."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "veterinary medicine",
          "veterinary medicine"
        ],
        [
          "remove",
          "remove"
        ],
        [
          "claw",
          "claw"
        ],
        [
          "onychectomy",
          "onychectomy"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(transitive, veterinary medicine) To surgically remove the claws of (an animal); to perform onychectomy on."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "transitive"
      ],
      "topics": [
        "biology",
        "medicine",
        "natural-sciences",
        "pathology",
        "sciences",
        "veterinary",
        "zoology"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with quotations",
        "English terms with usage examples",
        "English transitive verbs"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              28,
              36
            ]
          ],
          "text": "The acerbic comedy has been declawed by the demands of network TV.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              103,
              111
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "2016 January 25, “Why Arabs would regret a toothless Chinese dragon”, in The National, archived from the original on 10 Jul 2024, retrieved 25 Jan 2016:",
          "text": "If, when the moment arrives, China is unwilling to side with its allies, the Arabs will rapidly find a declawed Chinese dragon unwelcome.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To make harmless; to remove the power, authority, or force from."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "harmless",
          "harmless"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(transitive, figuratively) To make harmless; to remove the power, authority, or force from."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "figuratively",
        "transitive"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/diːˈklɔː/",
      "tags": [
        "UK"
      ]
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-ɔː"
    }
  ],
  "word": "declaw"
}

Download raw JSONL data for declaw meaning in English (5.2kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2026-06-07 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2026-06-01 using wiktextract (e79dea5 and 7f4db16). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.