as in womanizing
formal + disapproving
to have sexual intercourse
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Recent Examples of fornicating
These are unhappy hedonists, boozing and fornicating for lack of fulfillment.
—
Dan Stahl, New Yorker, 13 Mar. 2026
Dan Stahl, New Yorker, 13 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fornicating
Verb
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One was Buck Strickland, Hank Hill’s philandering boss, who has many of LBJ’s characteristics including carrying on conversations while on the toilet.—
Stephen Rodrick,
Rolling Stone,
16 June 2026
-
About deluded coaches and philandering teammates and practice-field punch-ups.—
Leander Schaerlaeckens
June 8,
Literary Hub,
8 June 2026
Verb
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And finally, wouldn’t being near-perfectly still for an hour make a pair of copulating octopuses ridiculously exposed to predators?—
Jacek Krywko,
ArsTechnica,
2 Apr. 2026
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After copulating, the two males lay immobile on the seafloor as the female swam away.—
Jack Guy,
CNN Money,
24 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The New World screwworm's larvae eat live flesh and fluids instead of dead material, with females laying their eggs in open wounds and mucous membranes after mating only once in their monthslong lives.—
Aimee Picchi,
CBS News,
12 June 2026
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By mating with sterile flies, the females don't produce more flies and outbreaks can eventually be halted.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
8 June 2026
Verb
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Zeus did not approve of his daughter fooling around with this mortal roughneck hunter and put out a hit on Orion.—
Mike Lynch,
Twin Cities,
8 Mar. 2026
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The transition was rough for Ansari, who wasn’t fluent in English and often got in trouble for fooling around in school.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
7 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Fornicating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fornicating. Accessed 21 Jun. 2026.
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