as in cultivating
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 domesticating
That means that winemakers across what is now France must have switched from domesticating wild grapes to propagating them directly—that is, cloning grapevines by taking cuttings of the plants to start new groves.
—
Jackie Flynn Mogensen, Scientific American, 24 Mar. 2026
And perhaps no one brand better exemplifies the nation's work than Track Trailer and its Tvan, a little 'drop trailer that's been domesticating the Outback for over a quarter-century.
—New Atlas, 17 Mar. 2026
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
But where chimps might merely poke over the ashes, our lineage at some point took the next step in promoting and even domesticating the flames — perhaps picking a smoldering stick from the edges of one grassland, and lighting the grassland in the next valley over.
—Peter Brannen, Big Think, 28 Aug. 2025
Jackie Flynn Mogensen, Scientific American, 24 Mar. 2026
And perhaps no one brand better exemplifies the nation's work than Track Trailer and its Tvan, a little 'drop trailer that's been domesticating the Outback for over a quarter-century.
—New Atlas, 17 Mar. 2026
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
But where chimps might merely poke over the ashes, our lineage at some point took the next step in promoting and even domesticating the flames — perhaps picking a smoldering stick from the edges of one grassland, and lighting the grassland in the next valley over.
—Peter Brannen, Big Think, 28 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for domesticating
Verb
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Researchers studied her cells by cultivating them in a laboratory and saw indications of a selective advantage, with healthy skin cells favored over diseased ones.—
Jerome Groopman,
New Yorker,
6 Apr. 2026
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Beyond his many business achievements, Goldschmied took pride in mentoring emerging talent and cultivating enduring relationships across the fashion world.—
SJ STAFF,
Footwear News,
5 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The four astronauts on the Artemis II mission that took them around the moon spent years preparing for the historic flight, practicing operating the Orion spacecraft, learning how to observe the moon's geography and even training in photography.—
Jeanine Santucci,
USA Today,
10 Apr. 2026
-
But the truth is that [shorter windows] are training people to not go to the movies at all.—
Rebecca Rubin,
Variety,
10 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Giant pandas reach adulthood and begin breeding between ages 5 and 7, with females maturing faster than males.—
Ryan Brennan,
Kansas City Star,
8 Apr. 2026
-
Penguins that are not breeding can stay in the water for more than 150 hours at a time.—
Samantha Agate,
Miami Herald,
8 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
That means that winemakers across what is now France must have switched from domesticating wild grapes to propagating them directly—that is, cloning grapevines by taking cuttings of the plants to start new groves.—
Jackie Flynn Mogensen,
Scientific American,
24 Mar. 2026
-
Here are two simple methods for propagating ZZ plants.—
SJ McShane,
Martha Stewart,
10 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Rather, the hackers Smart and colleagues traced to an IP address in this city have been using the wily method his team uncovered to pilfer millions of dollars’ worth of cryptocurrency.—
Jessica Klein,
PC Magazine,
11 Apr. 2026
-
Equally important was Queen Margherita’s association with what would become the Reale Circolo Mandolinisti, in Florence, which established a full mandolin orchestra using mandolins, the larger mandolas, and mandocellos.—
Tim Parks,
New Yorker,
11 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Anthropic is not the only AI lab producing models with these kinds of capabilities, or considering similar release strategies to try to ensure cyber defenders have access to these systems before hackers do.—
Beatrice Nolan,
Fortune,
10 Apr. 2026
-
Welsh proved that in cultures in the lab, CF cells accepted the healthy DNA and started producing normal CFTR.—
Courtney Crowder,
USA Today,
10 Apr. 2026
Verb
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To review or object to instances where our partners assert a legitimate interest in utilizing your data, please visit our vendors page.—
Walden Green,
Pitchfork,
6 Apr. 2026
-
Measles is a highly-contagious virus that can be prevented by utilizing the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine.—
Sofi Zeman
April 6,
Kansas City Star,
6 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Perhaps the easiest way to start an argument online is to post a video of a mother raising her child.—
Micah Barkley,
Bloomberg,
10 Apr. 2026
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Political parties were disincentivized from forming coalitions—which might have unified the anti-Orbán vote—by incrementally raising the threshold required for alliances to enter Parliament.—
Kapil Komireddi,
New Yorker,
10 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Domesticating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/domesticating. Accessed 12 Apr. 2026.
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