Synonyms of incubating

incubating

verb

present participle of incubate

1

as in sitting

to cover and warm eggs as the young inside develop

the hen incubated her eggs for two weeks

Synonyms & Similar Words

• sitting
• spawning
• laying
• hatching
• brooding
• setting

2

as in promoting

to help the growth or development of

hopefully, these youthful visits to the museum will incubate an enduring love of art

Synonyms & Similar Words

• promoting
• cultivating
• encouraging
• fostering
• nurturing
• advancing
• furthering
• forwarding
• assisting
• advocating
• supporting
• nourishing
• nursing
• endorsing
• funding
• aiding
• financing
• backing
• subsidizing
• upholding
• championing
• underwriting
• advertising
• abetting
• working (for)
• plugging
• publicizing
• boosting
• staking
• patronizing
• endowing
• touting
• agitating (for)
• campaigning (for)

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• preventing
• inhibiting
• hindering
• discouraging
• prohibiting
• fighting
• opposing
• combating
• forbidding
• banning
• frustrating
• proscribing
• countering
• barring
• outlawing
• battling
• enjoining
• interdicting
• checking
• suppressing
• contending (with)
• stifling
• repressing
• squashing
• retarding
• subduing
• arresting
• halting
• squelching
• impeding
• interfering (with)
• obstructing
• hobbling
• encumbering
• snuffing (out)
• shackling
• fettering
• manacling

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of incubating

Nesting is always perilous, but the moment when the male and female trade places is especially so, as the incubating bird’s movement may catch the attention of a predator. — Rivka Galchen, New Yorker, 14 Sep. 2026

The scientists propose that Webb is catching supermassive black hole stars — up to 1 million times the mass of the sun — in the act of incubating the universe’s first big black holes. — Quanta Magazine, 14 Sep. 2026

Most titanosaur eggs and eggshells, like those of other dinosaurs, have been found in lower-latitude regions closer to the equator, where warmer temperatures would have made incubating the eggs easier. — Katie Hunt, CNN Money, 8 Sep. 2026

Pike's biological parents, Walker and Anchovy, had trouble incubating their egg. — Jim Higgins, jsonline.com, 19 Aug. 2026

After incubating another egg into April, the eagles started to leave it unattended. — Maddie Rhodes, USA Today, 10 Aug. 2026

During its most recent cycles, a majority of companies incubating within Y Combinator are building their structures using AI agent models. — Joe McKendrick, Forbes.com, 9 Aug. 2026

Molecular clouds can also be stellar nurseries, incubating new stars and planets in their depths. — Damien Pine, Scientific American, 13 July 2026

Believing a rock to be an egg, Roy and Silo took turns incubating it. — Chicago Tribune, 27 June 2026