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
Emergency management officials believe the virus is actively circulating in wild or domesticated birds and are increasing their monitoring of birds to more quickly identify any further cases.
—
Joe Brandt, CBS News, 18 Feb. 2026
Dogs were the first animal that humans domesticated.
—Margret Grebowicz, Fortune, 13 Feb. 2026
They can't be released into the wild because they are domesticated and lack survival skills.
—Leah Olajide, Freep.com, 13 Feb. 2026
Because the puppies were found near a site where ancient humans had butchered woolly mammoths, researchers had wondered whether they might be domesticated dogs, as opposed to wolves.
—Evan Bush, NBC news, 14 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for domesticate
Joe Brandt, CBS News, 18 Feb. 2026
Dogs were the first animal that humans domesticated.
—Margret Grebowicz, Fortune, 13 Feb. 2026
They can't be released into the wild because they are domesticated and lack survival skills.
—Leah Olajide, Freep.com, 13 Feb. 2026
Because the puppies were found near a site where ancient humans had butchered woolly mammoths, researchers had wondered whether they might be domesticated dogs, as opposed to wolves.
—Evan Bush, NBC news, 14 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for domesticate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for domesticate
Verb
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The game has cultivated a fanbase that is generally kind and patient, increasingly rare qualities in the gaming world, and online more broadly.—
Jacqui Palumbo,
CNN Money,
26 Feb. 2026
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But there are indeed upsides to living in New England during deep winter, one being the chance to amp up the hygge — the Danish term (pronounced hue-gah) for their concept of cultivating coziness.—
Gretta Monahan,
Boston Herald,
26 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The model is trained on experimental data from facilities such as DIII-D and the Joint European Torus.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
4 Mar. 2026
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The companies do not use health data to train their models.—
CNN Money,
CNN Money,
3 Mar. 2026
Verb
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With its light texture, perlite mixed with water makes an excellent medium for propagating stem cuttings and leaf cuttings.—
Alexandra Jones,
The Spruce,
26 Feb. 2026
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Pruning For Cuttings Speaking of offsets, these are a great way to propagate your succulents and spread more plants around the garden.—
Brandee Gruener,
Southern Living,
26 Feb. 2026
Verb
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And Anthropic isn’t actually opposed to using AI to deploy autonomous weapons.—
Reed Albergotti,
semafor.com,
28 Feb. 2026
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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the Pentagon would use the Defense Production Act to access Anthropic’s technologies regardless of the company’s decision.—
Auzinea Bacon,
CNN Money,
28 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Subcontractors were selected in part based on their track records in hiring residents, minorities, and women, and in utilizing MBE/WBE firms.—
Ed Gaskin,
Boston Herald,
27 Feb. 2026
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This oversight extends beyond human guidance; LabOS also utilizes a robotic arm to handle tedious tasks such as mixing.—
Deni Ellis Béchard,
Scientific American,
27 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Carrick ignored it, deciding not to change a formula up front that has ended up producing five wins and a draw from his first six matches back in the dugout.—
Ian Irving,
New York Times,
28 Feb. 2026
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Even if some kilns had continued producing ceramics, the Yuan Dynasty fell in 1368 and the first Ming emperor banned commercial trade around 1371, so even conservative estimates for dating the shipwreck still fall between the late 1320s and 1371, according to the study.—
Issy Ronald,
CNN Money,
28 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Spencer, a contractor and a farmer, also breeds turkeys with a gobbler named JerryBoy.—
Faith Karimi,
CNN Money,
1 Mar. 2026
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For example, cross-pollinating a plum with an apricot produces a pluot, a hybrid fruit bred for its smooth skin and sweet, juicy flesh.—
SJ McShane,
Martha Stewart,
27 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Public spaces are accessible, though the historic nature of the building means some architectural features have been adapted rather than purpose-built.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
2 Mar. 2026
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Many dishes are inspired by his TV appearances, and some are later adapted for the restaurant’s menu.—
Eva Remijan-Toba,
Chicago Tribune,
1 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Domesticate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/domesticate. Accessed 5 Mar. 2026.
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