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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Recent Examples of domesticate
Mesopotamian cuneiform tablets suggest pigeons were domesticated as early as 5,000 years ago, and hieroglyphic evidence suggests the Ancient Egyptians used them as messengers.
—
Calista Oetama, Sacbee.com, 16 July 2025
Before the pottery wheel and writing systems were shared between cultures, domesticated plants and animals spread across the Fertile Crescent and Egypt in the sixth millennium BC, as societies transitioned from being hunter-gatherers to living in permanent settlements.
—Ashley Strickland, CNN Money, 2 July 2025
While domesticated grapes are hermaphorditic, meaning their flowers contain both male and female organs, wild grapes are dioecious, meaning there are separate male and female plants, as is the case with this species.
—Joshua Siskin, Oc Register, 28 June 2025
Amanda Li/iStock / Getty Images Plus Even though they've been domesticated for thousands of years, cats still carry many instincts from their wild ancestors.
—Lucy Notarantonio, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for domesticate
Calista Oetama, Sacbee.com, 16 July 2025
Before the pottery wheel and writing systems were shared between cultures, domesticated plants and animals spread across the Fertile Crescent and Egypt in the sixth millennium BC, as societies transitioned from being hunter-gatherers to living in permanent settlements.
—Ashley Strickland, CNN Money, 2 July 2025
While domesticated grapes are hermaphorditic, meaning their flowers contain both male and female organs, wild grapes are dioecious, meaning there are separate male and female plants, as is the case with this species.
—Joshua Siskin, Oc Register, 28 June 2025
Amanda Li/iStock / Getty Images Plus Even though they've been domesticated for thousands of years, cats still carry many instincts from their wild ancestors.
—Lucy Notarantonio, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for domesticate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for domesticate
Verb
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This involves maintaining constant vigilance, cultivating mental resilience and being open to redefining your professional identity.—
Philip Samson,
Forbes.com,
8 Aug. 2025
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Tuesday nights at the facility became a ritual for them, the three-time Super Bowl champion sharing war stories with student coaches and sleeping on an air mattress not all that far from Stretch’s closet; precisely when and where Stretch began cultivating and collecting stories all his own.—
Andrew Callahan,
Boston Herald,
7 Aug. 2025
Verb
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To date, it’s trained thousands of residents, distributed Narcan kits and led one of Chicago’s largest treatment diversion program.—
Steve Sewall,
Chicago Tribune,
18 Aug. 2025
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Even the most advanced algorithm will revert to the mean of the dataset on which it’s been trained.—
Webb Wright,
Scientific American,
18 Aug. 2025
Verb
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An imbalance can cause brain cells to malfunction, losing their ability to manage ion concentrations across their membranes and propagate action potentials.—
Dan Samorodnitsky,
Quanta Magazine,
11 Aug. 2025
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Try your hand at propagating roses by taking cuttings.—
Andy Wilcox,
Better Homes & Gardens,
6 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Over the years, investigators pursued multiple leads without success, releasing a composite sketch of the suspect and using genetic genealogy and familial DNA testing in search of a match.—
Stephanie Murray,
AZCentral.com,
9 Aug. 2025
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Photos used in this column were made possible by the Barry Bingham Jr. Photograph Collection, which is maintained by University of Louisville Archives & Special Collections staff.—
Leo Bertucci,
Louisville Courier Journal,
9 Aug. 2025
Verb
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The investment will utilize the company’s proprietary technology to improve the Sky’s cybersecurity measures by tracking and responding to the rapidly growing mess of online abuse, threats and harassment players face.—
Julia Poe,
Chicago Tribune,
9 Aug. 2025
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Vibe coding utilizes plain English prompts rather than complex coding syntax to instruct AI models to generate code.—
Chuck Brooks,
Forbes.com,
8 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Companies like OpenAI, Google, Meta and xAI are in the thick of it, racing to produce the smartest large language model (LLM) while facing strong rivals from Asia.—
James DiNardo,
Forbes.com,
15 Aug. 2025
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Maintain a safe distance from large vehicles - Trucks or buses can produce a water spray that hampers visibility.—
NC Weather Bot,
Charlotte Observer,
15 Aug. 2025
Verb
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But when a fire destroys part of Al’s home and a hard drive goes missing, mistrust begins to breed between the two, drawing in Peck’s teenage daughter Sara and threatening to undo both their relationship and their role in a larger criminal enterprise.—
Erik Pedersen,
Oc Register,
7 Aug. 2025
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Communicate Clearly And Often Uncertainty breeds fear, and fear stalls progress.—
Jason Ballard,
Forbes.com,
7 Aug. 2025
Verb
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But his body soon adapted and, eventually, the new plan got him to the big leagues, following in the path of Travis Adams, who reached the majors about a month earlier.—
Betsy Helfand,
Twin Cities,
13 Aug. 2025
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The series is adapted for television by Naomi Sheldon and Gabbie Asher, with episodes written by Sheldon, Asher, Polly Cavendish, Helen Kingston, Marek Horn, Ava Wong Davies, Isis Davis, Smita Bhide, and Matt Evans.—
Denise Petski,
Deadline,
13 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Domesticate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/domesticate. Accessed 21 Aug. 2025.
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