Definitions
from The Century Dictionary.
- To bereave of children; make childless.
- To divest of the character of a child in relation to parents. [Rare in both uses.]
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- transitive verb To bereave of children; to make childless.
- transitive verb To make unlike a child; to divest of the characteristics of a child.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- verb obsolete, transitive To make someone
childless ; toorphan .
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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The family consists of a grown-up son, a shiftless, melancholy-looking youth, who possibly pines for a wider life; a girl of sixteen, a sour, repellent-looking creature, with as much manners as a pig; and three hard, unchild-like younger children.
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He had been living so unchild-like a life of late that Janetta begged to keep him for play as well as for lessons with other children.
A True Friend A Novel Adeline Sergeant
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Ever since he had found his place in his father's heart, the drooping unchild-like sadness had passed away, and though still grave and thoughtful, there was a life and animation about him at times that cheered and delighted her.
Heartsease, Or, the Brother's Wife Charlotte Mary Yonge 1862
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Conformably to the law of the fifth commandment, children ought not to marry, nor to move towards marrying, without the advice and consent of their parents; those that do (as bishop Hall here expresses it) wilfully unchild themselves, and exchange natural affections for violent. parents have a property in their children as parts of themselves.
Commentary on the Whole Bible Volume II (Joshua to Esther) 1721
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If they command against God, they lose their right of being obeyed, and in this case we must unchild ourselves.
The Ten Commandments 1692
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