MOTHERING Synonyms: 75 Similar and Opposite Words

mothering 1 of 2

noun

as in motherhood

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mothering

2 of 2

verb

present participle of mother

as in having

to bring forth from the womb I hope to mother at least one child

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in nursing

to attend to the needs and comforts of mothered the patients with chicken soup

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 mothering

Noun

The cultural ascendance of intensive mothering, in which mothers are deemed entirely responsible for their children’s well-being and success, has upped the ante. — Marianne Cooper, Time, 5 Aug. 2026 To make their point perfectly clear, women are sharing photos of themselves breastfeeding in front of Old Masters paintings in museums that depict the very same mothering act. — Devorah Lauter, ARTnews.com, 6 July 2026 Yet the history of motherhood has remained largely untold, and the narrative is not often driven by the people who do the actual mothering. — Holly Corbett, Forbes.com, 22 May 2026 Each statue the perfect epitome of silent, mothering, virginal womanhood that Ireland had come to worship. — Literary Hub, 8 May 2026 Suzanne O’Donnell, an accomplished regional theater actor with a lot of Shakespeare on her resume, plays Penrose as both a warm mothering figure to these two occasionally babyish men but does not downplay the character’s pragmatic side. — Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 21 Apr. 2026 For almost a century, since the dawn of mass screen entertainment, society has passed through waves of panic over media’s effects on children, which have often coincided with panics over the effects of various kinds of mothering. — Jean Garnett, New Yorker, 18 Apr. 2026 In response to the mothering of a sister, a brother has options—resist, lash out, put up with it, become utterly dependent on it. — Christine Smallwood, Harpers Magazine, 24 Mar. 2026 Kate had changed her hair into a stylish bob — but apparently hadn’t updated her mothering skills — two years later when, in the sequel, Kevin again was discovered missing, at the Miami airport. — Jocelyn Noveck, Mercury News, 5 Feb. 2026

Verb

Somehow mothering four children, leading a massive pop resurgence, and still making time for a fun night with her girlfriends for a glass of wine (or seven). — Edward Segarra, USA Today, 15 Apr. 2026 Key strands of the film are about mothering with laser focus on the parents played by Okonedo and Mallen. — Baz Bamigboye, Deadline, 13 Feb. 2026 Really, the album is about tiring of mothering men who are great in bed but lack crucial social skills. — Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 3 Sep. 2025 And as the following selections from the archives of The Christian Science Publishing Society show, prayer can bring out more of how God is mothering, comforting, and preserving us right here and now. — The Christian Science Monitor, Christian Science Monitor, 8 May 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for mothering

Noun

On July 26, the proud mom launched Picolette, a baby brand inspired by her experiences with motherhood.

— Chanel Vargas, InStyle, 9 Aug. 2026
So much of the book is about motherhood, and what being a good mother is.

— Rachel Syme, New Yorker, 9 Aug. 2026

Definition of motherhood

Verb

Sometimes layovers can be in different countries than your destination, or your flight could get rerouted for some reason, so having your back covered for every country is helpful.

— Hayley Domin, Travel + Leisure, 8 Aug. 2026
Elaine Rossi, a part-time nanny for the Clancy family, said Lindsay Clancy told her about having postpartum issues.

— Andi Babineau, CNN Money, 8 Aug. 2026

Definition of having

Verb

Nose tackle Bobby Brown returned to practice Monday after nursing a hamstring injury throughout the first week of camp.

— Mike Kaye August 4, Charlotte Observer, 4 Aug. 2026
More scientifically referred to as retrograde duct flow, this is the mechanism by which breastfeeding babies shoot spit into the nipple of whomever is nursing them.

— Popular Science Team, Popular Science, 29 July 2026

Definition of nursing

Verb

Both players played well, Romero shackling Jude Bellingham for much of the evening, Spence producing a famous recovery tackle on Giuliano Simeone when England were 1-0 up.

— Jack Pitt-Brooke, New York Times, 12 Aug. 2026
This heat drives the park’s geysers and hot springs while producing frequent earthquakes and gradual changes in the ground.

— Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 12 Aug. 2026

Definition of producing

Verb

Stop the bleeding before healing anything, and never attempt the healing as a standalone project.

— Evan J. Schwartz, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2026
The Moon, tied to intuition, moves through your 12th House of Solitude and conjoins healing Chiron there, opening gentle space to notice what your heart whispers.

— Tarot.com, The Orlando Sentinel, 5 Aug. 2026

Definition of healing

Verb

This Wi-Fi 7 powerhouse ensures your connection never hits a lag spike when researching for that big project (or solo gaming marathons and 8K movie streams) while delivering quad-band speeds.

— Juhi Wadia, PC Magazine, 5 Aug. 2026
The molecule combined the smallest molecular size among the candidates with superior electrochemical performance, delivering both fast sodium-ion transport and strong stability against degradation at the battery electrodes.

— Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 5 Aug. 2026