defang

verb
/diːˈfæŋ/UK

Etymology

From de- + fang.

  1. derived from *peh₂ḱ-
  2. inherited from *fanhaną
  3. derived from fanga
  4. inherited from fōn
  5. inherited from fangen
  6. prefixed as defang — “de + fang

Definitions

  1. To remove the fangs from (something).

    • The snake was defanged.
  2. To render (something) harmless.

    • The Government's new security supremo, Admiral Sir Alan West, said the danger from home-grown and foreign terrorists was at its greatest level ever, and warned that it could take up to 15 years to defang Islamic radicalism.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for defang. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA