as in motherhood
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1
as in having
to bring forth from the womb
I hope to mother at least one child
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in nursing
to attend to the needs and comforts of
mothered the patients with chicken soup
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of mothering
Literary Hub, 22 Jan. 2026
Born in Switzerland in 1924, Yo lived life on her own terms, defying expectations around sexuality, mothering, aging, and even death.
—Leo Barraclough, Variety, 20 Jan. 2026
But still, Fernandez’s mothering instinct told her something was very wrong.
—Luis Pascal, Miami Herald, 28 Nov. 2025
Over half of my years of mothering have been as a single mom.
—Stephanie Land, Time, 30 Oct. 2025
Or the crib with a dip alongside its edge, which Roe incorporated based on memories of leaning over the side of the crib in the early days of mothering.
—Julia Harrison, Architectural Digest, 21 Oct. 2025
That’s not a typical mothering experience.
—Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 9 Oct. 2025
Her books were their progeny, Stein acknowledged, and without Alice’s mothering—and typing, proofreading, cooking, sewing, shopping, bookkeeping, and warding off bores—they might not have been born.
—Judith Thurman, New Yorker, 29 Sep. 2025
Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 3 Sep. 2025
Noun
Every memory holding the sum of us—not me alone, but a nesting doll of memories, proof that someone in the world once mothered us, even if that mothering had to come from only ourselves.
—Literary Hub, 22 Jan. 2026
Born in Switzerland in 1924, Yo lived life on her own terms, defying expectations around sexuality, mothering, aging, and even death.
—Leo Barraclough, Variety, 20 Jan. 2026
But still, Fernandez’s mothering instinct told her something was very wrong.
—Luis Pascal, Miami Herald, 28 Nov. 2025
Over half of my years of mothering have been as a single mom.
—Stephanie Land, Time, 30 Oct. 2025
Or the crib with a dip alongside its edge, which Roe incorporated based on memories of leaning over the side of the crib in the early days of mothering.
—Julia Harrison, Architectural Digest, 21 Oct. 2025
That’s not a typical mothering experience.
—Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 9 Oct. 2025
Her books were their progeny, Stein acknowledged, and without Alice’s mothering—and typing, proofreading, cooking, sewing, shopping, bookkeeping, and warding off bores—they might not have been born.
—Judith Thurman, New Yorker, 29 Sep. 2025
Verb
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mothering
Noun
-
More women in their late 30s and 40s aren’t just choosing to become first-time mothers—some of them are also entering motherhood on their own, through IVF or donor sperm.—
Akilah Siti Easter,
Parents,
23 Jan. 2026
-
Shaker Heights, the suburban Cleveland setting for Ng’s novel about motherhood, race, and privilege, is the perfect location for a novel about middle class America.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
21 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Rose emphasized the importance of the dig, as Chinese American cowboys were often overlooked in the historical record, despite having a big economic impact.—
Andrea Margolis,
FOXNews.com,
30 Jan. 2026
-
If the right deal for a starting-level center is there for the Pacers right now, will the Pacers actually be buyers despite having the worst record in the NBA?—
Tony East,
Forbes.com,
29 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
LeBron James didn’t play due to left joint arthritis and sciatica, joining Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura (both nursing calf strains) on the unavailable list as the Lakers (23-12) saw their three-game winning streak come to an end.—
Oc Register,
Oc Register,
8 Jan. 2026
-
Beto Montenegro is currently nursing a cup of tea in a ski locker room in the French Alps.—
Leonor C. Suárez,
Rolling Stone,
8 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Noir laid her easel and 4-by-5-foot linen canvas against a boulevard tree and started painting a portrait of Good wearing the strapless red dress from her maternity photoshoot, her blonde hair blowing in the wind.—
Alicia Wallace,
CNN Money,
24 Jan. 2026
-
Keep scrolling for the other Amazon maternity essentials that were constantly on rotation during my pregnancy.—
Olivia Dubyak,
PEOPLE,
21 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The Oh-My-God particle first interacted with an atomic nucleus in the upper atmosphere, producing a series of daughter particles that each maintain a fraction of the original particle’s momentum, which then collide with greater and greater numbers of particles, and so on.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
30 Jan. 2026
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The cattle there are raised in open-air conditions and fed for precisely 600 to 650 days, producing uniquely tender beef with subtle umami.—
Alaina Chou,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
30 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Keep it to a minimum so the tree can focus on its foliage rather than healing its wounds.—
Karen Brewer Grossman,
Southern Living,
26 Jan. 2026
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People have begun to donate food and water, and the community supports each other, especially protesters who have healing professions like therapists, Stauffer said.—
Camryn Dadey,
Sacbee.com,
26 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Pretti provided care and comfort after Fouts underwent surgery to repair a descending aortic aneurysm, a bulge in the artery delivering blood from the heart to the rest of the body.—
Theresa Braine,
New York Daily News,
26 Jan. 2026
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And those traditional soil tests use acids to extract phosphorus from the soil, delivering inaccurate findings of how much phosphorus plants can actually access.—
Dinesh Phuyal,
The Conversation,
26 Jan. 2026
Verb
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By using hot air, the two layers bond, birthing slight irregularities on the knit surface in the process.—
Martino Carrera,
Footwear News,
16 Jan. 2026
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More so, Black, American Indian/Alaska Native, and Pacific Islander moms and birthing people still die at two to three times the rate of White moms and birthing people.—
Hannah Nwoko,
Parents,
4 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Mothering.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mothering. Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.
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