breed

1 to bring forth offspring rabbits will breed very frequently unless they're kept separated Synonyms procreate, multiply, propagate, reproduceRelated Words bear, beget, engender, gender, generate, get, have, mother, parent, produce, sire; hatch, spawn

2 to bring to maturity through care and education he was bred to a life in the military by his father, himself an army captain Synonyms bring up, foster, nourish, nurse, raise, rearRelated Words father, mother; attend, care (for), cradle, cultivate, mind, minister (to), nurture, watch; discipline, educate, instruct, mentor, school, teach, train, tutor; edify, enlighten, indoctrinate; feed, provide (for), supply; advance, forward, further, promote; prepare; direct, guide, lead, shepherd, showNear Antonyms abuse, ill-treat, ill-use, maltreat, mishandle, mistreat; ignore, neglect; harm, hurt, injure

3 to be the cause of (a situation, action, or state of mind) this habit of favoring one employee over the others will breed resentment Synonyms beget, effect, bring, bring about, bring on, catalyze, cause, create, do, draw on, effectuate, engender, generate, induce, invoke, make, occasion, produce, prompt, result (in), spawn, translate (into), work, yieldRelated Words conduce (to), contribute (to); decide, determine; begin, establish, father, found, inaugurate, initiate, innovate, institute, introduce, launch, pioneer, set, set up, start; advance, cultivate, develop, encourage, forward, foster, further, nourish, nurture, promote; enact, render, turn outNear Antonyms impede, limit, restrict; clamp down (on), crack down (on), crush, dampen, put down, quash, quell, repress, smother, squash, squelch, stifle, subdue, suppress; arrest, check, control, curb, inhibit, rein (in), restrain, retard; can [slang], kill, snuff (out), still; abolish, demolish, destroy, extinguish, liquidate, quench

4 to engage in sexual intercourse cats breeding outside our window made a horrible racket last night Synonyms copulate, mate, sleepRelated Words fool around, fornicate

5 to set permanently in the consciousness or mind-set parents who breed in their children a deep respect for people of all classes Synonyms implant, enroot, inculcate, infix, inseminate, instill, plant, sowRelated Words drive, hammer, pound; embed (also imbed), entrench (also intrench), fix, lodge, root; imbue, infuse, ingrain (also engrain), inoculate, invest, steep, suffuse