Synonyms of rape

rape 1 of 2

noun

ˈrāp 

1

as in violation

the act of forcing a person to engage in sexual activity and especially intercourse

an international law defining rape as a war crime

Synonyms & Similar Words

• violation
• assault
• sexual assault
• ravishment

2

as in kidnapping

the unlawful or forcible carrying away of a person or animal

the legend of the rape of the Sabine women by the ancient Romans was frequently depicted in classical art

Synonyms & Similar Words

• kidnapping
• abduction
• hijacking
• snatch
• seizure
• impressment
• shanghaiing

rape

2 of 2

verb

as in to violate

to engage in sexual activity and especially intercourse with a person unwilling or unable to give consent

the defendant accused of raping the victim

Synonyms & Similar Words

• violate
• assault
• force
• ravish

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of rape

Noun

Alabama is scheduled to execute Jeremy Williams by lethal injection for the 2021 rape and murder of a 5-year-old Georgia girl. — ABC News, 13 Aug. 2026

Set in the gloomy colder-weather months in San Francisco, Josephine focuses on a young girl (Mason Reeves) who witnesses a brutal rape while out on a jog with her dad, Damien (Channing Tatum), in Golden Gate Park. — Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 11 Aug. 2026

Sasa takes on a rape case that strikes close to home, while his friend Kalle defends a client in a gang trial that tests his ideals. — Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 11 Aug. 2026

Forensic evidence and investigative findings across the multiple cases led law enforcement to identify Cerf as a suspect in the rapes, authorities said. — Aaron Martinez, USA Today, 7 Aug. 2026

That applies to organisations such as cafes, leisure centres, gyms and hairdressers, as well as public toilets, local sports clubs with at least 25 members, hospital wards, domestic violence shelters and rape-crisis shelters. — Harriet Marsden, TheWeek, 6 Aug. 2026

Hillside Strangler, name coined by media for the serial killer believed to be responsible for the rape and murder of 10 girls and women in the Los Angeles area between October 1977 and February 1978. — Laura Payne, Encyclopedia Britannica, 6 Aug. 2026

The office cautioned that the actual number of rapes are likely higher due because many cases go unreported by the victims due to fear of reprisal and stigmatization. — Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 6 Aug. 2026

And in a third case, Sullivan Walter was sentenced to 40 years in prison in 1986 for burglary and rape, among other charges. — Richard A. Webster, ProPublica, 6 Aug. 2026

Verb

Prosecutors said Williams raped and strangled Holland after offering her mother $2,500 for the child to perform oral sex on him. — ABC News, 11 Aug. 2026

Conahan was arrested in February 1997, accused of raping Montgomery, strangling him and cutting off his genitals to eliminate DNA tracing. — Cbs Miami Team, CBS News, 11 Aug. 2026

The day that she was taken prisoner, on a battlefield near the village of Petrivske, she was raped by a Russian soldier. — Joshua Yaffa, New Yorker, 10 Aug. 2026

In April, the former congressman suspended his campaign for governor of California after multiple women accused him of inappropriate behavior ranging from sending lewd, unwanted messages to drugging, raping and choking them. — Charlotte Phillipp, PEOPLE, 7 Aug. 2026

Brooks, 19, was a student at LSU when she was hit by a car and killed after a group of men allegedly raped her, then dumped her out of a vehicle on a Baton Rouge, Louisiana, highway in 2023, and drove off. — Kelsie Cairns, FOXNews.com, 6 Aug. 2026

Enraged, Bianchi and Buono picked up the 19-year-old Washington on October 17, 1977, and bound, raped, and strangled her in the back of Bianchi’s car. — Laura Payne, Encyclopedia Britannica, 6 Aug. 2026

Haiti has no fully functioning government, its capital is largely controlled by gangs and the United Nations issued a warning late last month about a surge in women and girls being raped, often by armed groups. — The Miami Herald Editorial Board, Miami Herald, 5 Aug. 2026

Investigators found cell phone videos of him raping the children, taken from his point of view, the prosecutor said. — John Annese, New York Daily News, 3 Aug. 2026