fathering 1 of 2

Definition of fatheringnext

fathering

2 of 2

verb

present participle of father
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

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 fathering
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
  • The Fringe actor, who shares daughter Juno Rose Diana Jackson, 5, with ex-wife Jodie Turner Smith, revealed that their mutual experiences with fatherhood had added another layer to his grief.
    Lara Walsh, InStyle, 10 Mar. 2026
  • This vision of masculinity and fatherhood is part of what inspired his new children’s book, Dada Takes a Trip.
    ​Wendy Wisner, Parents, 3 Mar. 2026
Noun
  • The ensuing years have only amped up fans clamoring for more Greek island-hopping, more paternity sleuthing, and most of all, more Meryl.
    Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 24 Feb. 2026
  • Or, more recently, when Babcock from 2022-2024 defended Jones in paternity and breach of contract lawsuits.
    Brad Townsend, Dallas Morning News, 19 Feb. 2026
Verb
  • Grunion are known to make a faint squeaking noise while spawning.
    Laylan Connelly, Oc Register, 4 Mar. 2026
  • Known for satirizing horror flicks, the Scary Movie films launched with the first title hitting theaters in 2000 before spawning four sequels.
    Ryan Gajewski, HollywoodReporter, 3 Mar. 2026
Noun
  • But a new partnership between the Clinton Foundation and the nonprofit Supply Bank is giving California parents help with this inescapable cost of child-rearing.
    Chase Hunter, Mercury News, 24 Feb. 2026
  • With Mattie doing the child-rearing, John threw himself into music.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 17 Feb. 2026
Verb
  • That minority owner Tom Brady, fresh off producing a documentary on the 49ers’ 1980s dynasty for AMC, would ship his best player to his native Bay Area?
    Cam Inman, Mercury News, 6 Mar. 2026
  • That discontent then feeds domestic politics, producing anti-globalization policies like tariffs; that, in turn, feeds back into the international system, deepening instability.
    Nicholas Gordon, Fortune, 6 Mar. 2026
Noun
  • Those who testified in support of the bill said parents should always know what’s going on with their children and should have the ultimate say over their upbringing.
    Becca Savransky, Idaho Statesman, 10 Mar. 2026
  • The desire to show empathy to different cultures and admiration for the Latino community comes from van Thillo’s upbringing in San Clemente.
    Carlos Rico, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Mar. 2026
Verb
  • Both cases were fodder for a media firestorm, begetting nightly news specials and full-length documentaries.
    Mia Galuppo, HollywoodReporter, 22 Jan. 2026
  • 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
  • Kate had changed her hair into a stylish bob — but apparently hadn’t updated her mothering skills — two years later when, in the sequel, Kevin again was discovered missing, at the Miami airport.
    Jocelyn Noveck, Mercury News, 5 Feb. 2026
  • Every memory holding the sum of us—not me alone, but a nesting doll of memories, proof that someone in the world once mothered us, even if that mothering had to come from only ourselves.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 22 Jan. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Fathering.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fathering. Accessed 12 Mar. 2026.

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