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
One of the new papers, published in Science, centers on ancient wild and domesticated cats in North Africa, Europe and the Middle East, while the other, appearing in Cell Genomics, focuses on the history of cats in ancient China.
—
Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 27 Nov. 2025
Specifically, the filings related to a group of LLCs that Blaylock, who previously worked at Arizona, had created or domesticated over the last 12 years, and how some of that activity seemed to coincide with Blueprint’s activities with the U of A and OSU.
—Daniel Libit, Sportico.com, 18 Nov. 2025
The ordinance says animals that aren't domesticated can't be kept or brought into the city unless the health commissioner allows it.
—Quinn Clark, jsonline.com, 30 Oct. 2025
Some give him credit for trying to domesticate the Shiite militias.
—Robert F. Worth, The Atlantic, 28 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for domesticate
Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 27 Nov. 2025
Specifically, the filings related to a group of LLCs that Blaylock, who previously worked at Arizona, had created or domesticated over the last 12 years, and how some of that activity seemed to coincide with Blueprint’s activities with the U of A and OSU.
—Daniel Libit, Sportico.com, 18 Nov. 2025
The ordinance says animals that aren't domesticated can't be kept or brought into the city unless the health commissioner allows it.
—Quinn Clark, jsonline.com, 30 Oct. 2025
Some give him credit for trying to domesticate the Shiite militias.
—Robert F. Worth, The Atlantic, 28 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for domesticate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for domesticate
Verb
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These opportunities turn a viewing experience into a core memory that cultivates customer loyalty long after the event concludes.—
Ben Kruger,
Rolling Stone,
15 Jan. 2026
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In her hands, cultivating counter-ideologies is a way for the vulnerable to hone their intuition, to trust themselves.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
15 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Al Bahar ran the bank's first global leadership program for women, NBK RISE, and helped train 20 women for executive roles.—
Maggie McGrath,
Forbes.com,
21 Jan. 2026
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The Clear Creek County Sheriff's Office is set to begin training deputies on the Grappler system, a pursuit intervention device that disables a suspect's vehicle by entangling its tires rather than forcing a crash.—
Spencer Wilson,
CBS News,
21 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Stevia seeds are difficult to germinate, but starter plants are readily available over the Internet and they are easily propagated from shoot cuttings.—
Joshua Siskin,
Oc Register,
15 Jan. 2026
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If your plants have already become noticeably bent and rotating their pots doesn’t correct it, support their stems with stakes or cages, or cut the unruly stems and use them to propagate the plants.—
Lauren Landers,
Better Homes & Gardens,
14 Jan. 2026
Verb
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On her birthday, Kate released the last of her Mother Nature videos on social media, using the platform to promote her message of being outside among wildlife and open spaces as a key to her wellbeing and recovery from her cancer treatment.—
Simon Perry,
PEOPLE,
14 Jan. 2026
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Wearing rubber gloves, use a sponge to spread the mixture all over the bottom of the oven.—
Karen Brewer Grossman,
Southern Living,
14 Jan. 2026
Verb
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One final research experiment will take place upon landing, as the crew will forgo the typical medical and mobility assistance normally utilized by astronauts following spaceflight while their bodies reacclimate to gravity.—
Robert Z. Pearlman,
Space.com,
13 Jan. 2026
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But more importantly, this would give the team cost control at the center position and reshape the cap sheet while utilizing money that could be earmarked for Mathurin on a center.—
Sam Vecenie,
New York Times,
13 Jan. 2026
Verb
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However, the process of producing HBM memory is much more demanding than that for memory used in most consumer electronics.—
Dylan Butts,
CNBC,
13 Jan. 2026
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China produces around 60 to 70% of the world’s rare earths, and processes nearly 90% of it.—
Miranda Jeyaretnam,
Time,
13 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The California least tern is a white-and-black bird less than 10 inches long that breeds only in a few areas along the bays and lagoons of California and Mexico and is in danger of extinction because of coastal development.—
Phil Diehl,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
13 Jan. 2026
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The team also acknowledges the possibility that birds from surrounding wildland populations may have moved into the now-quieter city and bred with urban juncos.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
11 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The series, which was adapted from Liz Moore's novel of the same name, centers on Seyfried's Mickey, a police officer who works in the Philadelphia neighborhood of Kensington at the height of the opioid crisis.—
Brenton Blanchet,
PEOPLE,
12 Jan. 2026
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These are the ones most likely to be adapted for crowd monitoring throughout cities.—
Emma Bussey,
FOXNews.com,
12 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Domesticate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/domesticate. Accessed 23 Jan. 2026.
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