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
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
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
Verb
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Burnham has spent years positioning himself as a viable alternative to Starmer, criticizing Labour's leadership at moments of weakness while carefully cultivating his own national profile.
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In his regular visits to Nuuk, Horn has spent much of his time cultivating relationships with business leaders and politicians like Pele Broberg, leader of the pro-independence Naleraq party, who has made no secret of their meetings.
Verb
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Team Avatar will of course continue training and gathering allies while Aang must learn firebending which could come through an unlikely partnership with Zuko.
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The frontier labs keep shipping the next capability while the imitators are still training on the last one, and the value keeps accruing to whoever is ahead rather than to whoever copied the leader's previous answers.
Verb
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Doing so will reduce the risk of mosquitoes breeding in the blooms.
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Services will range from individual wellness and sick-patient examinations to routine herd healthcare, breeding soundness exams, pregnancy examinations, on-farm consultations, lameness evaluations and certificates of veterinary inspection, A-State said.
Verb
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Ahead, experts share their go-to methods for propagating a lemon tree the right way.
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The young tender stems are also perfect for propagating.
Verb
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Twice last month, people in South Korea taking an exam to assess their English language skills - the results of which are often used to make hiring decisions - were caught using smart glasses.
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This horoscope was generated automatically using information from Sanctuary.
Verb
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Founded in 2015 and headquartered in Campbell, California, Orbital Composites develops robotic additive manufacturing systems for producing advanced composite and high-temperature components for defense, aerospace, and energy applications.
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Longer gaps between disclosures could allow larger pools of uncertainty to accumulate beneath the surface, producing fewer but more severe repricing events when conditions finally become visible to markets.
Verb
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By cutting down on imports, relying on vast stockpiles and utilizing more clean energy, China has been able to cushion the impact of higher prices at home, if not alleviate it completely.
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In her post, SZA highlighted a disproportionate reliance on the creative output of Black artists by those utilizing generative AI models.
Verb
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The way the loss came about should be raising alarm bells inside the US camp.
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Forming partnerships with like-minded organizations is critical to raising brand awareness, accessing new markets and multiplying impact.
Cite this Entry
“Domesticating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/domesticating. Accessed 28 Jun. 2026.
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