as in fatherhood
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as in siring
to become the father of
Paul Revere somehow found room in his small house for the large family he had fathered
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Recent Examples of fathering
Rick Davis, CNN Money, 27 Feb. 2026
Crowe believes that Maximus fathering a son with a woman other than his wife tarnishes his character's legacy, as the gladiator's primary motivation in the original film is to avenge the deaths of his wife and son.
—Wesley Stenzel, Entertainment Weekly, 9 Dec. 2025
The novel opens as the teenage Karl Rossmann, whose parents shipped him off to America for fathering a child when he was seduced by the family’s thirty-five-year-old cook, arrives on a steamer in New York harbor and sees the Statue of Liberty holding not the emblematic torch but rather a sword.
—Literary Hub, 6 Oct. 2025
In June, the singer filed for a temporary restraining order and alleged that Wagner made false claims about living at her property, being in a relationship with her and fathering her child.
—Bryan West, USA Today, 23 Sep. 2025
Josh O’Connor, at his filthy best, plays a disillusioned ’70s suburban dad married to Alana Haim and vaguely fathering a pair of pathologically chatty sons as the Vietnam War and its attendant protests color the world around them.
—Vulture Staff, Vulture, 23 Sep. 2025
According to court documents obtained by PEOPLE last week, the New England Patriots wide receiver is being accused by Lopera, who goes by Lord Gisselle on Instagram, of fathering a baby girl, who was born this past April.
—Kayla Grant, PEOPLE, 22 Sep. 2025
Verb
Delivering bad news In 2001, Jesse faced a scandal for having an affair that resulted in him fathering a child.
—Rick Davis, CNN Money, 27 Feb. 2026
Crowe believes that Maximus fathering a son with a woman other than his wife tarnishes his character's legacy, as the gladiator's primary motivation in the original film is to avenge the deaths of his wife and son.
—Wesley Stenzel, Entertainment Weekly, 9 Dec. 2025
The novel opens as the teenage Karl Rossmann, whose parents shipped him off to America for fathering a child when he was seduced by the family’s thirty-five-year-old cook, arrives on a steamer in New York harbor and sees the Statue of Liberty holding not the emblematic torch but rather a sword.
—Literary Hub, 6 Oct. 2025
In June, the singer filed for a temporary restraining order and alleged that Wagner made false claims about living at her property, being in a relationship with her and fathering her child.
—Bryan West, USA Today, 23 Sep. 2025
Josh O’Connor, at his filthy best, plays a disillusioned ’70s suburban dad married to Alana Haim and vaguely fathering a pair of pathologically chatty sons as the Vietnam War and its attendant protests color the world around them.
—Vulture Staff, Vulture, 23 Sep. 2025
According to court documents obtained by PEOPLE last week, the New England Patriots wide receiver is being accused by Lopera, who goes by Lord Gisselle on Instagram, of fathering a baby girl, who was born this past April.
—Kayla Grant, PEOPLE, 22 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fathering
Noun
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Rather than intervene on the distressed woman’s behalf, everyone else avoids eye contact, keeping their faces glued to their phones — including our ashamed hero, who’s about to get a call that will put him face to face with the possibility of fatherhood himself.—
Alison Willmore,
Vulture,
8 Apr. 2026
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Putting fatherhood first Michaela’s dad is a five time All-Star and an MLB MVP.—
Charles Baggarly
April 2,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
2 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Employers are now also obliged to provide maternity, paternity and paid sick leave from the moment an employee joins.—
Ian King,
CNBC,
8 Apr. 2026
-
The Court of Appeals ruled that legal paternity rights are only granted to a genetic father.—
Melissa Rudy,
FOXNews.com,
1 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The nets capture spawning fish for their eggs.—
John Lauritsen,
CBS News,
9 Apr. 2026
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And a great-grandmother’s medicine tested positive for cocaine – spawning a 15-month legal nightmare, forcing her to refinance her home, and spurring a new state law that could set a precedent across the country.—
Holly Yan,
CNN Money,
5 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Being taught society’s standard eating rituals, so as not to disgust others by violating them, was certainly a useful part of ordinary child-rearing.—
Judith Martin,
Sun Sentinel,
31 Mar. 2026
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Being incredibly prescriptive about child-rearing in that way can arguably be harmful because children are their own people, and part of growing up is making mistakes.—
CNN Money,
CNN Money,
25 Mar. 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
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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
Noun
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More is learned about Agnes and Daisy’s upbringings, as well as Aunt Lydia’s origin story and early involvement with Gilead.—
Aramide Tinubu,
Variety,
7 Apr. 2026
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The band members have left their Latter-day Saint upbringing behind, but Oli doesn’t downplay the difficulty of that decision.—
Lily Moayeri,
SPIN,
6 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Both cases were fodder for a media firestorm, begetting nightly news specials and full-length documentaries.—
Mia Galuppo,
HollywoodReporter,
22 Jan. 2026
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The discovery, age five, that some people did not live in communities with all goods in common—that in fact for most, home was a locked building full of private property—begat questions still begetting questions at age thirteen.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
19 Aug. 2025
Noun
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In response to the mothering of a sister, a brother has options—resist, lash out, put up with it, become utterly dependent on it.—
Christine Smallwood,
Harpers Magazine,
24 Mar. 2026
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Around the eleventh century, in Anglo‑Saxon England, instructions for an elaborate childbearing and mothering ritual were recorded by monks in the Lacnunga, a collection of medical texts and curative prayers.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
18 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Fathering.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fathering. Accessed 11 Apr. 2026.
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