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
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
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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These foundations include having a consistent bedtime and wake-up time, avoiding technology use at night, and cultivating a cool, dark and quiet sleeping environment.—
Angelica Stabile,
FOXNews.com,
28 Sep. 2025
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Fifth generation Hamilton County farmer Rodney Rulon not only grows thousands of acres of corn and soy but is now cultivating a new approach to protecting the White River.—
Karl Schneider,
IndyStar,
25 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Because many dark taxa are absent from training data sets, even the most advanced image-recognition models work best as triage—rapidly sorting through familiar taxa and flagging likely new discoveries for human taxonomists to investigate.—
Marion Renault,
The Atlantic,
29 Sep. 2025
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Ohtani started training at Driveline before the 2021 season to prepare for his first season as a full-time pitcher and hitter.—
Jared Weiss,
New York Times,
29 Sep. 2025
Verb
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This will prevent mosquitoes from breeding in your yard.—
Elizabeth B. Kim,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
23 Sep. 2025
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Roland Emmerich became Hollywood’s king of disaster in the 1990s — mainly by cross-breeding the genre with alien and monster pictures, like Independence Day and Godzilla.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
19 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Such a blatant falsehood making it to the press conference betrays the fact that there is no limit to how false something has to be in order for this administration to resist propagating it.—
Rafael Perez,
Oc Register,
25 Sep. 2025
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To develop a whole-virus vaccine, researchers must first spend months isolating and propagating the virus.—
Deborah Fuller,
CNN Money,
10 Sep. 2025
Verb
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It was later removed by medical professionals using ice and lubricant.—
PC Magazine,
PC Magazine,
30 Sep. 2025
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The firm found that residents are in favor of preserving the old City Hall at its current location and using the space as a coffee house and ice cream shop, according to city documents.—
Taylor O'Connor,
Kansas City Star,
29 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Meet Nashville's new crime-fighting Clydesdale Metro Nashville mounted patrol officer Michael Douglas squeezed a three-foot-long rubber chicken, producing an increasingly louder and closer screeching sound to try and provoke a 1,700-pound Clydesdale named Ross.—
Laura L. Davis,
Nashville Tennessean,
6 Oct. 2025
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In the time since, the Post has shed much of its former staff, some of whom have found success producing the same content on other platforms.—
Max Tani,
semafor.com,
6 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The use of artificial intelligence to address workforce shortages has tripled since 2023, with 28% of companies now utilizing it.—
Anna Kleiber,
jsonline.com,
2 Oct. 2025
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The ranking is a record of how 18 sectors across the Fortune 500, including financials, health care, and retailing, are utilizing AI to personalize customer experiences, provide groundbreaking data analysis, optimize supply chains, and more.—
John Kell,
Fortune,
1 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The nonprofit will provide scholarships and supportive services for families raising children with autism.—
Victoria Moorwood,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
4 Oct. 2025
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Prague Reuters — Billionaire Andrej Babis’s ANO party cruised to victory in the Czech Republic’s parliamentary election on Saturday, raising the prospect of a government that would boost Europe’s populist, anti-immigration camp and reduce support for Ukraine.—
Reuters 3 hr ago,
CNN Money,
4 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Domesticating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/domesticating. Accessed 6 Oct. 2025.
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