as in to cultivate
to change (a wild animal or plant) over time to make it more suited to life with or use by humans
Humans domesticated wolves to produce man's best friend.
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Recent Examples of domesticate
While domesticated grapes are hermaphorditic, meaning their flowers contain both male and female organs, wild grapes are dioecious, meaning there are separate male and female plants, as is the case with this species.
—
Joshua Siskin, Oc Register, 28 June 2025
Amanda Li/iStock / Getty Images Plus Even though they've been domesticated for thousands of years, cats still carry many instincts from their wild ancestors.
—Lucy Notarantonio, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 June 2025
Some roughly 8,000-year-old pig teeth now offer evidence that the mammals were first domesticated from wild boar in South China.
—Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 11 June 2025
Zebras are difficult to domesticate due to their aggressive nature, lack of a family structure, and a strong ducking reflex that prevents easy capture.
—Hollie Silverman, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for domesticate
Joshua Siskin, Oc Register, 28 June 2025
Amanda Li/iStock / Getty Images Plus Even though they've been domesticated for thousands of years, cats still carry many instincts from their wild ancestors.
—Lucy Notarantonio, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 June 2025
Some roughly 8,000-year-old pig teeth now offer evidence that the mammals were first domesticated from wild boar in South China.
—Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 11 June 2025
Zebras are difficult to domesticate due to their aggressive nature, lack of a family structure, and a strong ducking reflex that prevents easy capture.
—Hollie Silverman, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for domesticate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for domesticate
Verb
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But fundamentally transforming a street that for decades has largely served a young and working-class night-time crowd — and cultivated a reputation among locals as the stepchild of downtown Austin — is no easy lift.—
Ella McCarthy,
Austin American Statesman,
30 July 2025
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Over the years, she’s cultivated a model built on partnership and trust—aligning closely with community leaders, government stakeholders and local changemakers to build programs that are sustainable and scalable.—
Laura Begley Bloom,
Forbes.com,
30 July 2025
Verb
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The Undertaker is also training Jelly Roll to team with Randy Orton as the pair will wrestle Drew McIntyre and Logan Paul at WWE's SummerSlam. Music City, more than ever, could easily double as America's pop cultural epicenter.—
Marcus K. Dowling,
The Tennessean,
26 July 2025
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The race's competitive nature brings in elite professional paddlers from around the world who've trained for the marathon's demanding conditions, per organizers.—
Jenna Prestininzi,
Freep.com,
25 July 2025
Verb
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Banana plants propagate vegetatively by offsets that grow up from their base with masses of leaves.—
Joshua Siskin,
Oc Register,
25 July 2025
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Google's Veo 3 videos have propagated across the Internet since the model's debut in May, blurring the line between truth and fiction.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
10 July 2025
Verb
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Blue Ghost Mission 2, scheduled for 2026, will also use Firefly’s Elytra Dark transfer vehicle and Blue Ghost lunar lander.—
Karoline Leonard,
Austin American Statesman,
31 July 2025
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The department uses a Rural Mail Carrier Survey to track Ohio’s rabbit population, which involves distributing survey cards to all postmasters across the state, who then give the cards to the carriers delivering mail on rural routes.—
Emma Wozniak,
The Enquirer,
31 July 2025
Verb
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To review or object to instances where our partners assert a legitimate interest in utilizing your data, please visit our vendors page.—
Jazz Monroe,
Pitchfork,
30 July 2025
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The series, dubbed ‘Star Creators,’ utilizes fans from around the world to help select the next great K-pop act.—
Laura Sirikul,
Forbes.com,
30 July 2025
Verb
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But after years of releasing one superhero smash hit after another, Marvel has lately produced more inconsistent results at the box office.—
Brendan Morrow,
USA Today,
3 Aug. 2025
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Walmart produced about $3.3 million from April 2024 to March 2025, which is split with the county, Lawson said.—
Andy Humbles,
The Tennessean,
3 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Sperm whales live and breed off the coast of the Caribbean nation all year long.—
Sarah Sekula,
USA Today,
29 July 2025
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Mosquitoes need water to breed, so limit standing water around your home by cleaning gutters and downspouts, removing leaves from low-lying areas and draining dishes under flower pots after rainstorms.—
Madeline Heim,
jsonline.com,
28 July 2025
Verb
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Moreover, diarrhea and other digestive effects can be affected by the following factors: Despite these influential factors, the gut can adapt to higher quantities of xylitol.—
Amy Brownstein,
Verywell Health,
1 Aug. 2025
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The filmmaker, who wrote and directed the 2006 Christmas rom-com of the same name, reacted to the announcement that Apple TV+ is adapting her movie into a limited series.—
Wesley Stenzel,
EW.com,
1 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Domesticate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/domesticate. Accessed 7 Aug. 2025.
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