declaw
English
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Pronunciation
[edit]Verb
[edit]declaw (third-person singular simple present declaws, present participle declawing, simple past and past participle declawed)
- (transitive, veterinary medicine) To surgically remove the claws of (an animal); to perform onychectomy on.
- (transitive, figuratively) To make harmless.
- 2016 January 25, “Why Arabs would regret a toothless Chinese dragon”, in The National, retrieved 25 January 2016:
- If, when the moment arrives, China is unwilling to side with its allies, the Arabs will rapidly find a declawed Chinese dragon unwelcome.