rapes 1 of 2

plural of rape
1
as in violations
the act of forcing a person to engage in sexual activity and especially intercourse an international law defining rape as a war crime

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2
as in abductions
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

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rapes

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of rape
as in violates
to engage in sexual activity and especially intercourse with a person unwilling or unable to give consent the defendant accused of raping the victim

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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 rapes
Noun
Police said all five rapes occurred within a one-mile radius of one another. — Adam Thompson, CBS News, 14 Sep. 2026 From the new arrivals, Dresdeners heard the harrowing tales of mass rapes, murders, and atrocities perpetrated by Russian soldiers eager for revenge. — Literary Hub, 31 Aug. 2026 Under his ruling, none of the rapes that took place in Thornden Park or in the student apartments near it will have to be disclosed. — Joaquin Sapien, ProPublica, 28 Aug. 2026 The raid underscores gangs’ push to seize strategic mountain corridors around upscale Pétion-Ville, even as armed groups now control most of Port-au-Prince and nationwide killings, rapes and kidnappings surge. — Pierre-Richard Luxama, Los Angeles Times, 25 Aug. 2026 In DeKalb, homicides went up from 16 to 18, and rapes increased from 35 to 46. — Irene Wright, USA Today, 12 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 Germany recorded 751 cases categorized as group rapes in 2025, according to the federal government’s response to a parliamentary inquiry submitted by the opposition Alternative für Deutschland party. — Efrat Lachter, FOXNews.com, 12 July 2026 Three men, including Jackman, have all been tied to serial rapes in the Westport area in the 1980s. — Caroline Zimmerman, Kansas City Star, 18 June 2026
Verb
In that film’s story, Insiang (Hilda Koronel) metes out revenge against Dado (Ruel Vernal), her hateful mother’s lover, who rapes her after rejecting his advances. — Lé Baltar, IndieWire, 10 July 2026 Through these photos, Dominique Pelicot is not ‘just’ casting an incestuous gaze on me, as was said during the investigation and the Mazan rapes trial. — Time, Time, 7 Apr. 2026 And when her brother-in-law, Stanley (Marlon Brando), rapes her, her descent into madness was made all the more vivid and believable by Leigh's precise depiction of vulnerability and instability. — Darren Franich, Entertainment Weekly, 15 Mar. 2026 The girl vomited and went to lie down where Marino allegedly rapes her, the prosecutor added. — Flint McColgan, Boston Herald, 26 Feb. 2026 Soon after police arrested Bernardo for the Scarborough rapes, he and Homolka were also linked to the murders of three teenage girls between 1990 and 1992, according to CTV News. — Lynsey Eidell, PEOPLE, 1 Dec. 2025 At the end of that game, Alma psychically rapes the protagonist, a psychic soldier named Beckett, and becomes pregnant with another child. — Will Borger, Rolling Stone, 31 Oct. 2025 Lanier rapes Forsythe during a job interview, which O’Brien recounts in upsetting, unwavering detail. — Jared Sullivan, The Atlantic, 17 Oct. 2024 Donald treats Ivana with similar contempt, and then rapes her. — Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 10 Oct. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rapes
Noun
  • Jury finds Facebook liable for over 43 million violations of consumer protection law with potential penalties of more than $200 billion.
    — Alexei Oreskovic, Fortune, 28 Sep. 2026
  • The callers claim that their victims have warrants out for their arrest for missing jury duty or other violations and pressure them to deposit funds in bitcoin ATMs, officials said.
    — Dan Raby, CBS News, 28 Sep. 2026
Noun
  • In Costa Rica, Sandinista operatives are suspected in a series of shootings, abductions and killings of Nicaraguan exiles in recent years.
    — Ismael López, Los Angeles Times, 17 Sep. 2026
  • Last week, dozens of people were kidnapped from a mosque in a spate of abductions at several villages in Nigeria's north-central Niger state.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 27 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • The numbers may be right while the decision violates a policy, bypasses a control or occurs at the wrong point in the process.
    — Sunil Padiyar, Forbes.com, 25 Sep. 2026
  • The court did not decide whether allowing transgender girls to compete in girls’ sports violates Title IX, instead ruling that California lacked clear notice that excluding transgender athletes was a condition of receiving federal education funding.
    — Jackson Thompson OutKick, FOXNews.com, 24 Sep. 2026
Noun
  • Another suspect in the 2023 attacks, Italian anti-fascist activist Ilaria Salis, was jailed in Hungary for over a year following the assaults, resulting in a diplomatic dispute between Rome and Budapest over her treatment in detention.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 1 Oct. 2026
  • Prosecutors used the Idaho assaults to prove a pattern of abuse, and put a life sentence on the table.
    — Olivia Young, CBS News, 28 Sep. 2026
Noun
  • In 2025, 1,268 kidnappings were reported, a nearly 40% drop from the 2,058 kidnapping reported the previous year, the report stated.
    — Dánica Coto, Los Angeles Times, 13 June 2026
  • In the '30s, when the Lindbergh baby was abducted, kidnappings and ransoms were so common that high-profile people often secured kidnapping insurance.
    — Kase Wickman, Vanity Fair, 7 Feb. 2026
Verb
  • Cooper told Fox40 that changes to state parole laws are up to the state Legislature, which might not act until a high-profile case forces its hands.
    — Daniel Lempres, Sacbee.com, 25 Sep. 2026
  • Every year, by design, the law forces thousands of inefficient old vehicles off the road as the cost of compliance rises and parts become harder to find.
    — Kyle Cheromcha, The Drive, 24 Sep. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Rapes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rapes. Accessed 2 Oct. 2026.

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