as in to play (around)
formal + disapproving
to have sexual intercourse
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Recent Examples of fornicate
These are unhappy hedonists, boozing and fornicating for lack of fulfillment.
—
Dan Stahl, New Yorker, 13 Mar. 2026
Tenants like Thomas have sent Gorman and Company scores of photos and videos showing people in the hallways fornicating, using drugs, sleeping and fighting, among other unsavory activities.
—Everett Eaton, jsonline.com, 31 Oct. 2025
When female artists came calling, his staff would vacate, and according to office lore, the Gar Man would fornicate with a lucky few.
—Tom Freston, Vulture, 28 Oct. 2025
Age-old paintings of satyrs bedding nymphs and mythological figures fornicating have been newly unearthed at a small house at Pompeii.
—Alex Greenberger For Artnews, Robb Report, 30 Oct. 2024
Age-old paintings of satyrs bedding nymphs and mythological figures fornicating have been newly unearthed at a small house at Pompeii.
—Alex Greenberger, ARTnews.com, 25 Oct. 2024
From bodily function issues and kid shenanigans to videos of terrible tattoos and people looking to fornicate with anything that has a pulse, fans serve as their own laugh track.
—Ali Lerman, Los Angeles Times, 30 Sep. 2024
Dan Stahl, New Yorker, 13 Mar. 2026
Tenants like Thomas have sent Gorman and Company scores of photos and videos showing people in the hallways fornicating, using drugs, sleeping and fighting, among other unsavory activities.
—Everett Eaton, jsonline.com, 31 Oct. 2025
When female artists came calling, his staff would vacate, and according to office lore, the Gar Man would fornicate with a lucky few.
—Tom Freston, Vulture, 28 Oct. 2025
Age-old paintings of satyrs bedding nymphs and mythological figures fornicating have been newly unearthed at a small house at Pompeii.
—Alex Greenberger For Artnews, Robb Report, 30 Oct. 2024
Age-old paintings of satyrs bedding nymphs and mythological figures fornicating have been newly unearthed at a small house at Pompeii.
—Alex Greenberger, ARTnews.com, 25 Oct. 2024
From bodily function issues and kid shenanigans to videos of terrible tattoos and people looking to fornicate with anything that has a pulse, fans serve as their own laugh track.
—Ali Lerman, Los Angeles Times, 30 Sep. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fornicate
Verb
-
Beyoncé Honors Tina Turner at Paris 'Renaissance' Show At the time, few knew the horrors of her life offstage and in studios with her abusive and womanizing husband.—
David Browne,
Rolling Stone,
14 June 2023
-
That his father was a difficult, violent, womanizing alcoholic, holding 34 jobs in 44 years.—
Karen Heller,
Washington Post,
3 May 2023
Verb
-
Maybe she is beset by need to copulate, by the desire of the eggs inside her for their own plot of land.—
María Ospina,
The Dial,
31 Mar. 2026
-
In November 1995, Funston took a 5-year-old boy into some bushes, pulled down his pants and orally copulated him, prosecutors said.—
Clara Harter,
Los Angeles Times,
22 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
And this fool is taking it with the fools around him.—
KiMi Robinson,
USA Today,
30 Mar. 2026
-
And there’s this: No fooling around in mid-June and having a life event get in the way of the March Madness get-together nine months later.—
Kirk Kenney,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
20 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Fornicate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fornicate. Accessed 5 Apr. 2026.
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