domesticating

verb

present participle of domesticate
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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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of domesticating In a statement published in the Journal of Heredity, Bell suggested that the government should look into the possibility of domesticating manatees. — David Merritt Johns, The Atlantic, 27 June 2026 Tens of thousands of years ago, humans began domesticating wild wolves to make hunting, gathering food and protection easier, according to Science News. — K'mari Greene, AJC.com, 4 June 2026 Truly domesticating bees required a hive with movable frames, one that would allow beekeepers to examine their bees and harvest honey without destroying the colony. — Literary Hub, 27 May 2026 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for domesticating
  1. cultivating
  2. training
  3. breeding
  4. propagating
  5. using
  6. producing
  7. utilizing
  8. raising
Verb
  • In the meantime, Rodríguez has been solidifying her influence in Washington—hiring a lobbyist and cultivating people who might benefit from stalling a transition.
    — Stephania Taladrid, New Yorker, 20 July 2026
  • The weekend of July 25, the cannabis area is honoring Home Grow Weekend, which will feature live demonstrations and panels on planting and cultivating cannabis plants at home.
    — Camila Pedrosa, Sacbee.com, 19 July 2026
Definition of cultivating
Verb
  • In addition to training large language models, data centers are also used to run generative AI queries.
    — Bridget Shirvell, Hartford Courant, 18 July 2026
  • Harris has been training full-time with the first team since returning from a successful half-season loan at Northern Ireland’s Coleraine in January.
    — Chris Waugh, New York Times, 17 July 2026
Definition of training
Verb
  • Under such conditions, mole rats usually start breeding within four or five weeks.
    — Jacek Krywko, ArsTechnica, 21 July 2026
  • Members of the Purple City Genetics team teach passersby about the science and art of breeding marijuana, while providing advice to budding home growers and selling plant starts.
    — Camila Pedrosa, Sacbee.com, 19 July 2026
Definition of breeding
Verb
  • While the opening minutes were shaky for both teams, probably due to nerves, La Roja quickly established itself and – like a virus that begins propagating in a new host – slowly grew into the match.
    — Patrick Sung Cuadrado, CNN Money, 20 July 2026
  • When propagating, look for basal shoots emerging from the tuber crown that are about 2 to 4 inches long.
    — Madeline Buiano, Martha Stewart, 17 July 2026
Definition of propagating
Verb
  • Concerned that the programs’ growing sophistication could induce emotional dependency and addiction, China last week banned minors from using AI companions and imposed additional requirements on platforms to prevent misuse.
    — Stephanie Yang, CNN Money, 23 July 2026
  • At the time of his death, Garcia-Sanchez was hauling asbestos-containing materials from the ninth floor to lower levels using a freight elevator, the report said.
    — Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 23 July 2026
Definition of using
Verb
  • With the aim of producing an addition 200,000 degrees beyond the 1 million already projected for 2030, the university set goals to improve its graduation rates.
    — Tarini Mehta, Sacbee.com, 22 July 2026
  • Animal viruses jump to humans in the wild hundreds of thousands of times a year, usually producing negligible infections, occasionally sparking an outbreak.
    — CNN Money, CNN Money, 22 July 2026
Definition of producing
Verb
  • Major League Baseball created the All-Star Game logo with input from the Cubs and highlighted Wrigley’s iconic marquee as the main ribbon in the banner while utilizing typography from the marquee’s letterform.
    — Meghan Montemurro, Chicago Tribune, 18 July 2026
  • The story around this is quite well known, but back in the 1990’s, Nvidia failed to meet Sega’s console expectations for a new graphics chip, and Sega ended up utilizing NEC's PowerVR GPU for the mighty Dreamcast instead.
    — Ollie Barder, Forbes.com, 17 July 2026
Definition of utilizing
Verb
  • Instead of raising expensive new money from outside investors, parent companies extracted equity from their nonbank subsidiaries and funneled it into their commercial bank arms.
    — Mayra Rodriguez Valladares, Forbes.com, 17 July 2026
  • Later, the Moon squares combative Mars, raising the odds of sharp words and impatient reactions.
    — Tarot.com, The Orlando Sentinel, 17 July 2026
Definition of raising

Browse Nearby Words

domesticates
domesticating
domestic partner
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Cite this Entry

“Domesticating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/domesticating. Accessed 25 Jul. 2026.

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