defang

English

Etymology

de- +‎ fang

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /diːˈfæŋ(ɡ)/

Verb

defang (third-person singular simple present defangs, present participle defanging, simple past and past participle defanged)

1. (transitive) To remove the fangs from (something).

   The snake was defanged.

2. (figuratively) To render harmless.
   • 2007 July 14, “The Roots of Terror”, in The Week, 622, 4:

     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.

Synonyms

• (render harmless): declaw

Anagrams

• fag end, fag-end, fanged