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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Philip Seymour Hoffman played him on Broadway as a near-psychotic, his philandering very much to blame for the fall of his elder son, Biff.—
Chris Jones,
New York Daily News,
10 Apr. 2026
-
The writer reckons with the charismatic, philandering father who tried to mold his son in his image.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
18 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
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
-
Signs warned, caution deers mating.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
14 Apr. 2026
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Following the rescue, Rob Hope — manager of the Orphaned Wildlife Rehabilitation Society, which is dedicated to the rescue, rehabilitation and release of raptors — told CTV News that fights among eagles are quite common as mating season approaches.—
Desiree Anello,
PEOPLE,
7 Apr. 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 22 Apr. 2026.
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