inseminate

verb

in·​sem·​i·​nate in-ˈse-mə-ˌnāt How to pronounce inseminate (audio)
inseminated; inseminating

transitive verb

1
: sow
2
: to introduce semen into the genital tract of (a female)
insemination noun
Choose the Right Synonym for inseminate

implant, inculcate, instill, inseminate, infix mean to introduce into the mind.

implant implies teaching that makes for permanence of what is taught.

implanted a love of reading in her students

inculcate implies persistent or repeated efforts to impress on the mind.

tried to inculcate in him high moral standards

instill stresses gradual, gentle imparting of knowledge over a long period of time.

instill traditional values in your children

inseminate applies to a sowing of ideas in many minds so that they spread through a class or nation.

inseminated an unquestioning faith in technology

infix stresses firmly inculcating a habit of thought.

infixed a chronic cynicism

Examples of inseminate in a Sentence

She was artificially inseminated in January. the notion that their monarch ruled by divine right had been inseminated in the people for countless generations
Recent Examples on the Web The lawsuit is the latest in series of legal actions in recent years involving women who discovered that they were secretly inseminated by their fertility doctors. Timothy Bella, Washington Post, 14 Dec. 2023 Yet in the past Swanson successfully inseminated three zoo ocelots using frozen nonwild sperm, resulting in kittens. Amy Mathews Amos, Scientific American, 4 Sep. 2023 The lawsuit filed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts alleges that Berger, a former professor at Harvard Medical School, had inseminated Depoian without her consent to perform the procedure with his own sperm. Timothy Bella, Washington Post, 14 Dec. 2023 For example, frozen semen from a White Oak male could be transported to Big Cypress and used to artificially inseminate an unrelated wild female. Peter Radetsky, Discover Magazine, 11 Nov. 2019 Dairy cows are inseminated with the aim of creating a beef-dairy hybrid calf that will reach maturity quickly. Laura Reiley, Washington Post, 10 Nov. 2023 Reeves and Swanson artificially inseminated nine zoo ocelots with sperm from the wild Texas animals in 2021 and 2022, and no pregnancies resulted. Amy Mathews Amos, Scientific American, 4 Sep. 2023 But the pandas repeatedly failed to breed naturally, so in 2004 and 2005, staff artificially inseminated Mei Xiang with Tian Tian’s sperm. Meilan Solly, Smithsonian Magazine, 22 Sep. 2023 And the only way to have abundant supplies of milk is to (usually artificially) inseminate dairy cows to keep them in a near-constant cycle of calving and then weaning their offspring early. Ali Francis, Bon Appétit, 19 Sep. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'inseminate.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Latin inseminatus, past participle of inseminare, from in- + semin-, semen seed — more at semen

First Known Use

circa 1623, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of inseminate was circa 1623

Dictionary Entries Near inseminate

Cite this Entry

“Inseminate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/inseminate. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

inseminate

verb
in·​sem·​i·​nate in-ˈsem-ə-ˌnāt How to pronounce inseminate (audio)
inseminated; inseminating
: to introduce semen into the genital tract of (a female)
insemination noun

Medical Definition

inseminate

transitive verb
in·​sem·​i·​nate in-ˈsem-ə-ˌnāt How to pronounce inseminate (audio)
inseminated; inseminating
: to introduce semen into the genital tract of (a female)
insemination noun

More from Merriam-Webster on inseminate

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!