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defang

verb

  1. remove fangs
L1505921 on Wikidata ↗

Wiktionary

Pronunciation: /diːˈfæŋ/

verb

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 fang English defang From de- + fang.

  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.