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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of domesticate
The progression was first exploiting a food source, then managing it and then domesticating it.
—
Elizabeth Weise, USA TODAY, 3 Mar. 2025
Instead, there was considerable overlap among different breeds, reinforcing the conclusion that domesticated dogs have not been structurally specialized for functional roles.
—Jenny Lehmann, Discover Magazine, 5 Feb. 2025
In Delhi, the birds were domesticated in the 17th century by Muslim rulers, who used them for communication, historian Sohail Hashmi notes.
—Shefali Rafiq, The Christian Science Monitor, 4 Feb. 2025
The invention of corn by Mexicans is only comparable to man’s invention of fire
— Octavio Paz
Corn was born here about 9,000 years ago, when Mesoamerican farmers first started to domesticate the wild grass known as teosinte.
—Kate Linthicum, Los Angeles Times, 13 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for domesticate
Elizabeth Weise, USA TODAY, 3 Mar. 2025
Instead, there was considerable overlap among different breeds, reinforcing the conclusion that domesticated dogs have not been structurally specialized for functional roles.
—Jenny Lehmann, Discover Magazine, 5 Feb. 2025
In Delhi, the birds were domesticated in the 17th century by Muslim rulers, who used them for communication, historian Sohail Hashmi notes.
—Shefali Rafiq, The Christian Science Monitor, 4 Feb. 2025
The invention of corn by Mexicans is only comparable to man’s invention of fire
— Octavio Paz
Corn was born here about 9,000 years ago, when Mesoamerican farmers first started to domesticate the wild grass known as teosinte.
—Kate Linthicum, Los Angeles Times, 13 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for domesticate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for domesticate
Verb
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Iran has cultivated an astonishing intellectual and artistic depth with far fewer resources than many other nations.—
Rebecca Ruth Gould,
JSTOR Daily,
9 Apr. 2025
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It must be cultivated with intention and consistency, and often, small steps are required to build it.—
Dr. Jennifer Bryant,
Forbes.com,
9 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Professional investors are trained to control their behavior and may succeed using a variety of different investment strategies.—
Jenny Van Leeuwen Harrington,
CNBC,
8 Apr. 2025
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Since Microsoft trained the AI model generating the interactive Quake II imagery on video footage of people playing the actual game, predictable things happen in predictable places.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
8 Apr. 2025
Verb
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His greenhouse houses maybe 50 of his own varieties among 125 stock plants used in ongoing breeding and to propagate inventory for retail customers.—
Margaret Roach,
New York Times,
25 Mar. 2025
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Misleading Social Media Advice: Platforms like TikTok propagate inaccurate tax advice, encouraging users to create fake documents or claim ineligible credits.—
Matthew F. Erskine,
Forbes,
20 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Prosecutors said Mahdi constantly used brutality to solve his problems.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
11 Apr. 2025
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The team used surrogate dogs -- since adopted through the humane society -- to help give birth to the dire wolves, which are white.—
Mary Kekatos,
ABC News,
11 Apr. 2025
Verb
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At the time of his murder, the DEA and Camarena had been utilizing a series of wiretaps to make sizeable drug busts inside Mexico.—
Greg Norman,
FOXNews.com,
10 Apr. 2025
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Those companies—Fanatics, Under Armour, Adidas, New Balance, New Era Cap, Nike, Puma, Lululemon, Amer Sports, Asics and Dick’s Sporting Goods—utilize 2,508 factories around the world.—
Lev Akabas,
Sportico.com,
10 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Neurons rely heavily on ATP — the energy molecule produced by mitochondria — to fire, repair and communicate.—
Jesse Pines,
Forbes.com,
5 Apr. 2025
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Directed by Joachim Rønning, the movie also stars Greta Lee, Evan Peters, Hasan Minhaj, Jodie Turner-Smith, Arturo Castro, Cameron Monaghan and Gillian Anderson. Leto, Sean Bailey, Jeffrey Silver, Justin Springer, Emma Ludbrook and Steven Lisberger produce, while Russell Allen executive produces.—
Lexi Carson,
HollywoodReporter,
5 Apr. 2025
Verb
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As of now, there's no plan for the wolves to breed.—
Mike Snider,
USA Today,
7 Apr. 2025
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Lamm says that Romulus, Remus, and Khaleesi will not be allowed to breed; moreover, the company anticipates genetically engineering just three to five more of the animals.—
D. T. Max,
New Yorker,
7 Apr. 2025
Verb
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As this reality sets in, there is a growing opening for fintech startups to bridge the gap.—
Ilona Limonta-Volkova,
Forbes.com,
9 Apr. 2025
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Her pivot to modeling reflects the growing trend of NIL-era athletes like LSU’s Angel Reese and Livvy Dunne leveraging their platforms beyond sports.—
WWD Staff,
Footwear News,
8 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Domesticate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/domesticate. Accessed 16 Apr. 2025.
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