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
At the time, livestock had yet to be domesticated, and camel herds still ran wild.
—
Martin J. Kernan, Scientific American, 30 Sep. 2025
At its Himalayan Botanical Garden, plants such as gentian are domesticated for research and cosmetics applications, reducing destructive wild harvesting while supporting biodiversity.
—Li Jun, Footwear News, 26 Sep. 2025
Lonpi Tipi added that domesticating larvae production ultimately would lead to solving problems related to access to protein- and nutrition-rich food.
—Emmet Livingstone, NPR, 20 Sep. 2025
The same response occurred in wild and domesticated tomatoes.
—Ashley MacKin Solomon, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for domesticate
Martin J. Kernan, Scientific American, 30 Sep. 2025
At its Himalayan Botanical Garden, plants such as gentian are domesticated for research and cosmetics applications, reducing destructive wild harvesting while supporting biodiversity.
—Li Jun, Footwear News, 26 Sep. 2025
Lonpi Tipi added that domesticating larvae production ultimately would lead to solving problems related to access to protein- and nutrition-rich food.
—Emmet Livingstone, NPR, 20 Sep. 2025
The same response occurred in wild and domesticated tomatoes.
—Ashley MacKin Solomon, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for domesticate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for domesticate
Verb
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Downstairs, a private VIC suite — the brand’s first in Europe — has been designed to support its growing clienteling program aimed at cultivating high-spending clients.—
Rhonda Richford,
Footwear News,
30 Oct. 2025
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The longtime garden enthusiast also added an adjacent parcel to further cultivate the picturesque grounds.—
Wendy Bowman,
Robb Report,
30 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Biannual launches have become the norm for the Shenzhou program, which has in the past year reached new milestones with the deployment of Chinese astronauts born in the 1990s, a world-record spacewalk, and plans to train and send the first foreign astronaut, from Pakistan, to Tiangong next year.—
Reuters,
CNN Money,
1 Nov. 2025
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Many of the therapists are trained in and hail from Asia.—
Jacqui Gifford,
Travel + Leisure,
31 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Sympodial orchids must be propagated by dividing them, not pruning or trimming them.—
Leanne Potts,
Better Homes & Gardens,
23 Oct. 2025
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To propagate directly in soil instead, place the cutting in a small pot filled with well-draining soil so the node is buried.—
Karen Brewer Grossman,
Southern Living,
21 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The Dodgers, with baseball's biggest payroll, have used their financial ability to pluck some of the most sought-after and most expensive free agents on the market.—
Steve Futterman,
NPR,
4 Nov. 2025
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According to the new study, certain forms of iron oxyhydroxide nanominerals can catalyze the degradation of organophosphate esters (OPEs), chemical additives used in plastics as flame retardants and softeners.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
4 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Advertisement The Humanitarian Research Lab at Yale School of Public Health utilized satellite images to corroborate the scene, as well as a previously unreported potential mass killing at an RSF detention site at the former Children’s Hospital.—
Rebecca Schneid,
Time,
3 Nov. 2025
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In Africa, operators of Floating Production Storage and Offloading Units (FPSO) are utilizing robust cameras with early warning capabilities to help improve situational awareness in hazardous environments.—
Atharva Gosavi,
Interesting Engineering,
3 Nov. 2025
Verb
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This episode was produced by Michelle Aslam and edited by Liana Simstrom and Irene Noguchi.—
Sarah McCammon,
NPR,
2 Nov. 2025
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Even weaker storms can produce excessive rainfall that can flood low-lying areas.—
William B. Davis,
New York Times,
2 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Schwanz pointed out how the work goes back to breeding resilience—not just breeding crops that can do more with less or maximizing yield—but true resilience for everyone.—
Angela Velasquez,
Sourcing Journal,
3 Nov. 2025
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Alpha Genesis’s red-meat pivot is emblematic of the desperate position in which the primate-breeding industry now finds itself.—
Ava Kofman,
New Yorker,
3 Nov. 2025
Verb
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The early signs are encouraging but the players are still adapting to Alonso’s demands.—
Anantaajith Raghuraman,
New York Times,
25 Oct. 2025
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In the early days of the conflict, the Ukrainian military was much more agile than Russian forces in terms of adapting tactics and equipment.—
Tim Lister,
CNN Money,
25 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Domesticate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/domesticate. Accessed 7 Nov. 2025.
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