as in motherhood
Related Words
Relevance
1
as in having
to bring forth from the womb
I hope to mother at least one child
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in nursing
to attend to the needs and comforts of
mothered the patients with chicken soup
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of mothering
Christine Smallwood, Harpers Magazine, 24 Mar. 2026
Around the eleventh century, in Anglo‑Saxon England, instructions for an elaborate childbearing and mothering ritual were recorded by monks in the Lacnunga, a collection of medical texts and curative prayers.
—Literary Hub, 18 Mar. 2026
Kate had changed her hair into a stylish bob — but apparently hadn’t updated her mothering skills — two years later when, in the sequel, Kevin again was discovered missing, at the Miami airport.
—Jocelyn Noveck, Mercury News, 5 Feb. 2026
Born in Switzerland in 1924, Yo lived life on her own terms, defying expectations around sexuality, mothering, aging, and even death.
—Leo Barraclough, Variety, 20 Jan. 2026
But still, Fernandez’s mothering instinct told her something was very wrong.
—Luis Pascal, Miami Herald, 28 Nov. 2025
Over half of my years of mothering have been as a single mom.
—Stephanie Land, Time, 30 Oct. 2025
Or the crib with a dip alongside its edge, which Roe incorporated based on memories of leaning over the side of the crib in the early days of mothering.
—Julia Harrison, Architectural Digest, 21 Oct. 2025
That’s not a typical mothering experience.
—Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 9 Oct. 2025
Baz Bamigboye, Deadline, 13 Feb. 2026
Really, the album is about tiring of mothering men who are great in bed but lack crucial social skills.
—Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 3 Sep. 2025
Noun
In response to the mothering of a sister, a brother has options—resist, lash out, put up with it, become utterly dependent on it.
—Christine Smallwood, Harpers Magazine, 24 Mar. 2026
Around the eleventh century, in Anglo‑Saxon England, instructions for an elaborate childbearing and mothering ritual were recorded by monks in the Lacnunga, a collection of medical texts and curative prayers.
—Literary Hub, 18 Mar. 2026
Kate had changed her hair into a stylish bob — but apparently hadn’t updated her mothering skills — two years later when, in the sequel, Kevin again was discovered missing, at the Miami airport.
—Jocelyn Noveck, Mercury News, 5 Feb. 2026
Born in Switzerland in 1924, Yo lived life on her own terms, defying expectations around sexuality, mothering, aging, and even death.
—Leo Barraclough, Variety, 20 Jan. 2026
But still, Fernandez’s mothering instinct told her something was very wrong.
—Luis Pascal, Miami Herald, 28 Nov. 2025
Over half of my years of mothering have been as a single mom.
—Stephanie Land, Time, 30 Oct. 2025
Or the crib with a dip alongside its edge, which Roe incorporated based on memories of leaning over the side of the crib in the early days of mothering.
—Julia Harrison, Architectural Digest, 21 Oct. 2025
That’s not a typical mothering experience.
—Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 9 Oct. 2025
Verb
Key strands of the film are about mothering with laser focus on the parents played by Okonedo and Mallen.
—Baz Bamigboye, Deadline, 13 Feb. 2026
Really, the album is about tiring of mothering men who are great in bed but lack crucial social skills.
—Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 3 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mothering
Noun
-
Health & Wellness Doctors blamed her symptoms on motherhood.—
Nicole Fallert,
USA Today,
2 Apr. 2026
-
Conservative influencer Isabel Brown has alleged that The View refused her request to appear on the talk show to defend herself after the cohosts slammed her on the air over the 28-year-old's recent remarks about motherhood.—
Joey Nolfi,
Entertainment Weekly,
1 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Parents love having an easy, reusable activity for restaurants, travel days, sleepovers or quiet time at home.—
Tory Johnson,
ABC News,
2 Apr. 2026
-
Blue Owl, which is unique in having two of these nontraded private credit funds, is also among the last to report redemptions.—
Leslie Picker,
CNBC,
2 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Eugenio Leiva sat alone at a table by the bar, nursing a whiskey.—
Natalia Favre,
Los Angeles Times,
4 Apr. 2026
-
Indians pitcher Katelynn Mathews, who is nursing an injured right ankle, entered the game in the second inning and earned the win to improve to 9-0.—
Lou Ponsi,
Oc Register,
3 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Doctors Without Borders, also known as MSF, said the Sudanese paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, RSF, launched two drone strikes on Al-Jabalain Hospital in the White Nile province, hitting an operating theater and a maternity ward.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
3 Apr. 2026
-
Unsurprisingly, Meghan's formal maternity wear was as chic as the rest of her royal outfits.—
Katherine J Igoe,
InStyle,
3 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The conflict involving oil-producing Gulf states, and the effective closure of a critical oil and gas shipping route in the Strait of Hormuz, has sent oil prices surging globally over the past month.—
John Liu,
CNN Money,
3 Apr. 2026
-
This hybridization resulted in Bradford producing fertile fruit through cross-pollination from other cultivars.—
Campbell Vaughn,
USA Today,
3 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Travelers have come to Kalopanayiotis for centuries for the healing powers of its sulfur springs.—
Selina Denman,
Condé Nast Traveler,
31 Mar. 2026
-
In practice, the Bath team verified healing even at ~20 °C (and plans to test at 5 °C).—
Srishti Gupta,
Interesting Engineering,
31 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The league and its clubs are actively delivering initiatives within local communities to address gender‑based abuse, including through the wider work of the Premier League Foundation and the funding of pilot projects.—
Cerys Jones,
New York Times,
6 Apr. 2026
-
Modern agriculture depends on precise timing of delivering nutrients to plants.—
Aya S. Chacar,
The Conversation,
6 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Either that, or these brown dwarfs will collide and merge, birthing an entirely new star with enough mass to trigger nuclear fusion.—
Robert Lea,
Space.com,
23 Mar. 2026
-
Another backlash player is the Tradwife movement with its viral vibe of birthing lots of babies with no pain killers, making bread from scratch, and selling homespun merch on Instagram.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
20 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Mothering.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mothering. Accessed 7 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
