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incubated

verb

past tense of incubate
1
as in spawned
to cover and warm eggs as the young inside develop the hen incubated her eggs for two weeks

Synonyms & Similar Words

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2
as in cultivated
to help the growth or development of hopefully, these youthful visits to the museum will incubate an enduring love of art

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 incubated Others, for certain, are incubated by gridiron versions of cheer moms, who shuffle their sons around in search of stardom. — Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 11 Sep. 2026 Tempo, the payments-specific chain, was incubated with Paradigm rather than acquired. — Janakiram Msv, Forbes.com, 19 Aug. 2026 Google’s self-driving car project graduated from X to become Waymo, and Google Glass was likewise incubated there. — IEEE Spectrum, 17 Aug. 2026 Hint ended up coming to life after being incubated at Montauk Capital; it’s raised $10 million, and investors include Slow Ventures, Tusk Venture Partners, and Brian Kelly (aka the Points Guy—a Stewart bestie who joined yesterday). — Emma Hinchliffe, Fortune, 23 July 2026 According to the ancient Greeks, a mighty serpent called Ophion incubated an enormous egg that hatched into the universe and all its inhabitants. — Literary Hub, 10 July 2026 The collaboration comes after Ephea was incubated by Kering’s Material Innovation Lab in Milan, which identifies, evolves, and helps to operationalize hundreds of alternative materials, with the hope of embedding them into brand collections. — Bella Webb, Vogue, 11 June 2026 The scientists demonstrated that tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) spontaneously formed when mixtures of purified coat protein and its genomic RNA were incubated together. — Scott Lafee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 June 2026 These arachnids hatch from eggs incubated in moist woodchuck feces, then affix themselves to the nearest dupe naïve enough to leave the city. — Jay Ruttenberg, New Yorker, 8 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for incubated
  1. spawned
  2. cultivated
  3. hatched
  4. promoted
  5. sat
  6. encouraged
  7. laid
  8. nurtured
Verb
  • The November 2023 shooting, weeks after the start of the Israel-Hamas war, spawned calls for a hate crime investigation.
    — Michael R. Sisak, Los Angeles Times, 15 Sep. 2026
  • Missouri's battle over its congressional districts has spanned more than a year and spawned confusion over which districts will be in place for voters.
    — DAVID A. LIEB, Arkansas Online, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of spawned
Verb
  • While her dad passed down his green thumb to her, ever since their family cultivated a victory garden for the troops during World War II, Stewart pointed out that gardening has been gaining widespread popularity in recent months.
    — Desiree Anello, PEOPLE, 19 Sep. 2026
  • Intentionally blending the personal, social-emotional, pedagogical and technical components of teaching cultivated a space where teachers felt heard and respected rather than talked at.
    — Paul Koh, Baltimore Sun, 19 Sep. 2026
Definition of cultivated
Verb
  • Having never been to Woodstock before the idea of the festival was first hatched, Blaustein, along with her then-husband, the late Laurent Rejto, created a film festival without any funds or fame.
    — Brent Lang, IndieWire, 9 Sep. 2026
  • ChatGPT wasn’t hatched beneath a volcano to take over the world.
    — Reed Albergotti, semafor.com, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of hatched
Verb
  • For The Times) UCLA Chancellor Julio Frenk’s statement to distance the university from a law school symposium on 9/11 has promoted growing faculty backlash over academic freedom.
    — Jaweed Kaleem, Los Angeles Times, 18 Sep. 2026
  • That group has promoted the poll as evidence of Democrat David Jolly’s viability in the governor’s race — despite Republicans’ massive voter registration advantage in the state.
    — Claire Heddles, Miami Herald, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of promoted
Verb
  • This fine establishment has sat at the same address in the Williamsburg Bridge's shadow since 1887, and the interiors carry about as many frills as your average public house—dark wood, plaster walls, and so on.
    — Charlie Hobbs, Condé Nast Traveler, 31 Dec. 2025
  • The birthday boy and his big sister Sterling Skye, 3, each sat between one of their parents’ laps.
    — Angel Saunders, People.com, 24 Dec. 2024
Definition of sat
Verb
  • Khoory said Aldar encouraged brands to connect with local architects to work on facades to communicate the emphasis on art and place-making.
    — Ritu Upadhyay, Footwear News, 18 Sep. 2026
  • Travelers to and from San Francisco International Airport are being encouraged to use Interstate 280 and Interstate 380, avoiding Highway 101 north of the airport.
    — Tim Fang, CBS News, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of encouraged
Verb
  • In the third minute, Wilson drove toward the endline and laid it off at the top of the box to Nina Nijstad, who calmly finished for the 1-0 lead — the first NWSL goal for the Dutch international.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 20 Sep. 2026
  • The establishment of a local team and official channels has therefore laid the foundation of the business, consolidating demand that was previously dispersed across unofficial channels into a direct relationship with the brand.
    — Advertorial, Footwear News, 19 Sep. 2026
Definition of laid
Verb
  • The shrubs, which grow along both sides of the winding pergola, were grown from small seedlings and nurtured at the farm.
    — Michele Laufik, Martha Stewart, 9 Sep. 2026
  • Although security needs to be nurtured year-round, the High Holidays offer a timely reason to review these best practices and improve the habits that keep our organizations safe in the weeks ahead and throughout the year.
    — Richard Priem, Sun Sentinel, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of nurtured

Browse Nearby Words

incubate
incubated
incubates
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Cite this Entry

“Incubated.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/incubated. Accessed 22 Sep. 2026.

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