MOTHERING Synonyms: 75 Similar and Opposite Words

mothering 1 of 2

noun

as in motherhood

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mothering

2 of 2

verb

present participle of mother

as in having

to bring forth from the womb I hope to mother at least one child

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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

Noun

The cultural ascendance of intensive mothering, in which mothers are deemed entirely responsible for their children’s well-being and success, has upped the ante. — Marianne Cooper, Time, 5 Aug. 2026 To make their point perfectly clear, women are sharing photos of themselves breastfeeding in front of Old Masters paintings in museums that depict the very same mothering act. — Devorah Lauter, ARTnews.com, 6 July 2026 Yet the history of motherhood has remained largely untold, and the narrative is not often driven by the people who do the actual mothering. — Holly Corbett, Forbes.com, 22 May 2026 Each statue the perfect epitome of silent, mothering, virginal womanhood that Ireland had come to worship. — Literary Hub, 8 May 2026 Suzanne O’Donnell, an accomplished regional theater actor with a lot of Shakespeare on her resume, plays Penrose as both a warm mothering figure to these two occasionally babyish men but does not downplay the character’s pragmatic side. — Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 21 Apr. 2026 For almost a century, since the dawn of mass screen entertainment, society has passed through waves of panic over media’s effects on children, which have often coincided with panics over the effects of various kinds of mothering. — Jean Garnett, New Yorker, 18 Apr. 2026 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 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

Verb

Somehow mothering four children, leading a massive pop resurgence, and still making time for a fun night with her girlfriends for a glass of wine (or seven). — Edward Segarra, USA Today, 15 Apr. 2026 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 And as the following selections from the archives of The Christian Science Publishing Society show, prayer can bring out more of how God is mothering, comforting, and preserving us right here and now. — The Christian Science Monitor, Christian Science Monitor, 8 May 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for mothering

Noun

The most starkly powerful scene in the film is about motherhood.

— Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 5 Sep. 2026
The character is composed of only the broadest of strokes, thinly defined by toughness, trauma, and uncomfortable motherhood, runoff of the stew that formed characters like Ripley.

— Angelica Jade Bastién, Vulture, 4 Sep. 2026

Definition of motherhood

Verb

Mike, with his sharp features and small, dark hands, is probably at the Silver Spur right now, nursing his glass of vodka, two rocks, no twist.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 10 Sep. 2026
At the end, Bjornsson — who had been nursing a knee injury — retained his title, although not everyone made it through unscathed.

— Rob Tanner, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2026

Definition of nursing

Noun

The second lady of the United States recently caught some flak on the internet for wearing an $8 maternity dress from Old Navy in a recent appearance with her husband.

— Austin Perry OutKick, FOXNews.com, 7 Sep. 2026
Since 2010, hospitals have closed hundreds of maternity units as cities and towns shrink and hospitals consolidate into larger systems.

— Noam Levey, NPR, 1 Sep. 2026

Definition of maternity

Verb

That target remains well beyond simply producing a larger processor.

— Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 9 Sep. 2026
Centuries before the internet infiltrated almost every aspect of daily life, Swift described how scientific and technological advances could lead to chronic distraction by producing an obsession with what could be rather than what is.

— Dónal Gill, The Dial, 8 Sep. 2026

Definition of producing

Verb

Anything starts to look possible in Ricki’s presence, even healing.

— Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 5 Sep. 2026
Grande, who was healing from a minor foot injury, addressed the crowd from the stage while sitting on a stool overlooking the thousands gathered at O2 Arena.

— Charisma Madarang, Rolling Stone, 2 Sep. 2026

Definition of healing

Verb

Researchers developed new control methods to help the insects not only move in the right direction and turn around, but also remain stable for long enough while delivering the medicine.

— Maryna Holovnova, New Atlas, 9 Sep. 2026
This $20 million contract signifies a broader shift from proving that autonomy works to delivering an operational breaching package that soldiers can employ.

— Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 9 Sep. 2026