germinate

verb

Definition of germinatenext
1
as in to emerge
to come into being A new counterculture germinating in the city's art district.

Related Words

Relevance
2
as in to propagate
to cause (something, as a seed) to grow She began by reading up on the best ways to germinate apple seeds.

Related Words

Dissimilar 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 germinate Trappe said the new seedlings would germinate and emerge in the springtime, even slightly before the emergence of crabgrass. — Jeff Wagner, CBS News, 15 Sep. 2026 Plant a few seeds and spread them around in a gallon pot—this provides extra insurance, as some seeds may not germinate at all. — Samantha Johnson, Martha Stewart, 14 Sep. 2026 Chickweed, henbit, hairy bittercress, dead nettle and shepherd’s purse all germinate in late summer and early autumn. — Manjot Kaur Sidhu, The Conversation, 10 Sep. 2026 Throughout these years, the seeds of extremism that would forcefully erupt on January 6, 2021, were germinating. — Literary Hub, 25 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for germinate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for germinate
  1. emerge
  2. propagate
  3. evolve
  4. produce
  5. grow
Verb
  • But important clues about how the sickness operates are emerging from the latest studies of bacterial DNA in ancient bones and teeth.
    — Faye Flam, Scientific American, 27 Oct. 2026
  • Once regarded as fragile and inward-looking, China’s health system is now emerging as an ambitious innovation engine.
    — Ruby Wang, semafor.com, 27 Oct. 2026
Definition of emerge
Verb
  • View this post on Instagram Because of the news of her divorce, the post trickled through the celebrity gossip outlets, and that coverage in turn propagated the post through Google search.
    — Mia Sato, The Verge, 15 Oct. 2026
  • The flow of the attacks was (1) finding targets, (2) gaining code execution, (3) establishing inference, and (4) propagating to new hosts.
    — Dan Goodin, ArsTechnica, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of propagate
Verb
  • The plague bacterium appears to have emerged as a human pathogen more than 5,700 years ago, evolving from a soil bacterium called Yersinia pseudotuberculosis, says Hendrick Poinar, a biologist at McMaster University, who works with ancient DNA.
    — Faye Flam, Scientific American, 27 Oct. 2026
  • These trends have evolved into a more evergreen aesthetic in 2026.
    — Joe Bobowicz, Vogue, 26 Oct. 2026
Definition of evolve
Verb
  • Co-produced by John Congleton, the record swaps synth-pop for gutter-punk, with distorted guitars and clattering surf riffs as its weapons of choice.
    — Zach Schonfeld, Pitchfork, 26 Oct. 2026
  • However, this movie carries a hefty $100 million price tag (stop-motion animation is labor-intensive and takes years to produce) and likely won’t turn a theatrical profit.
    — Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 25 Oct. 2026
Definition of produce
Verb
  • The bank also expects revenue to grow annually through 2028, targeting 5% growth that year compared with 2027, excluding notable items and on a constant currency basis.
    — Jenny Lee, CNBC, 27 Oct. 2026
  • The vote, which had been scheduled for last week, was delayed after two days of deliberations because of growing wariness among Egyptians concerned about an intervention in Yemen's long-running conflict.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 27 Oct. 2026
Definition of grow

Browse Nearby Words

germinal
germinate
germinated
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Germinate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/germinate. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of milieu

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All