as in sex
sexual union involving penetration of the vagina by the penis
female pandas are receptive to copulation for a short time once a year
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of copulate
S. C. Cornell, The New Yorker, 12 Mar. 2025
Once the toxin took effect, males mounted the females and copulated for between 40 and 75 minutes, without the risk of being gobbled up.
—Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 11 Mar. 2025
On his shirt, little hippos copulated against a pastel-blue cotton background.
—airmail.news, 7 Dec. 2024
Advertisement The lawsuit alleges Harris comforted the boy and during the encounter began forcibly orally copulating the teen.
—Hannah Fry, Los Angeles Times, 19 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for copulate
Verb
Religious leaders specified days on which, for medical or liturgical reasons, married couples were not to copulate—one Irish rule book from the early seventh century excluded a good two-thirds of the year.
—S. C. Cornell, The New Yorker, 12 Mar. 2025
Once the toxin took effect, males mounted the females and copulated for between 40 and 75 minutes, without the risk of being gobbled up.
—Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 11 Mar. 2025
On his shirt, little hippos copulated against a pastel-blue cotton background.
—airmail.news, 7 Dec. 2024
Advertisement The lawsuit alleges Harris comforted the boy and during the encounter began forcibly orally copulating the teen.
—Hannah Fry, Los Angeles Times, 19 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for copulate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for copulate
Verb
-
Resort teams often work around the clock during storms, sometimes sleeping on-site while trying to care for their own families and lives at the same time.—
Skye Sherman,
Travel + Leisure,
15 July 2025
-
The cute post features a precious shot of baby Sully sleeping, wearing a onesie with trucks on it.—
Clea Haran,
Parents,
15 July 2025
Noun
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The defense, with its framing, wanted to awaken any latent unease that a juror—an older one, perhaps—might feel toward the preceding years of correction between the sexes.—
Doreen St. Félix,
New Yorker,
3 July 2025
-
Trump has signed executive orders proclaiming the government will recognize only two sexes, male and female.—
Sharon Coolidge,
The Enquirer,
2 July 2025
Noun
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Things escalated, and soon enough Jane was undressing and having intercourse with Don.—
Ethan Shanfeld,
Variety,
6 June 2025
-
Until recently, most insurance companies followed the American Society for Reproductive Medicine’s definition for fertility, which defined infertility as a condition in which heterosexual couples couldn’t conceive after a year of unprotected intercourse.—
Adrianna Rodriguez,
USA Today,
4 June 2025
Noun
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American society and our relations with other societies are driven by the competition/conflict choice.—
Letters to the Editor,
Orlando Sentinel,
4 Jan. 2025
-
Insiders describe relations between her and brother Santo as tense and combative.—
Mattia Dognini,
The Hollywood Reporter,
3 Jan. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Copulate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/copulate. Accessed 22 Jul. 2025.
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