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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in kidnapings
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
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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
Daniella Segura, Sacbee.com, 5 Sep. 2025
Estimates of the number of rapes committed vary widely — up to as many as 120,000 — according to data compiled by the researchers, with many reluctant to report the attacks.
—Dr. Ewelina U. Ochab, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2025
Homicides and rapes were down 25% or more in the first half of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024.
—Christopher L. Keller, Chicago Tribune, 29 Aug. 2025
Homicides dropped 21%, rapes decreased 24% and robberies declined 41%.
—Ray Sanchez, CNN Money, 23 Aug. 2025
New Orleans recorded 2,543 crimes against people last year, including 124 murders as well as hundreds of assaults, rapes and robberies.
—Mandy Taheri, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 Aug. 2025
This was the real work, beyond the stabbings, the rapes, the paranoia, the conspiracy theories, the hate speech, the carved‑out crater in the living world where belief had collapsed in on itself like an exploding star.
—Literary Hub, 6 Aug. 2025
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
Noun
For more than four decades, the home invasion rapes of two women went unsolved, California prosecutors say.
—Daniella Segura, Sacbee.com, 5 Sep. 2025
Estimates of the number of rapes committed vary widely — up to as many as 120,000 — according to data compiled by the researchers, with many reluctant to report the attacks.
—Dr. Ewelina U. Ochab, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2025
Homicides and rapes were down 25% or more in the first half of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024.
—Christopher L. Keller, Chicago Tribune, 29 Aug. 2025
Homicides dropped 21%, rapes decreased 24% and robberies declined 41%.
—Ray Sanchez, CNN Money, 23 Aug. 2025
New Orleans recorded 2,543 crimes against people last year, including 124 murders as well as hundreds of assaults, rapes and robberies.
—Mandy Taheri, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 Aug. 2025
This was the real work, beyond the stabbings, the rapes, the paranoia, the conspiracy theories, the hate speech, the carved‑out crater in the living world where belief had collapsed in on itself like an exploding star.
—Literary Hub, 6 Aug. 2025
Verb
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
-
The bills, named for the global pop star — and the frantic rush to get tickets for her shows around the country — strengthen penalties for using bots to buy tickets in bulk and give the state attorney general the ability to investigate potential violations of the law.—
Arpan Lobo,
Freep.com,
8 Sep. 2025
-
Like Prairie Village, Leawood focuses on education and safety before writing violations if an officer stops an e-bike or e-scooter operator.—
Taylor O'Connor,
Kansas City Star,
8 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Since Missouri vanity plates have to follow the state obscenity law, a court would need to find that the state law violates the First Amendment.—
Eleanor Nash,
Kansas City Star,
10 Sep. 2025
-
Further, the letter warned that Unwrapped violates Spotify's developer policy, which bans using the Spotify platform or any Spotify content to build machine learning or AI models.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
10 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
This coalesces and makes sense of the barrage of assaults designed to undermine Americans’ trust in our country, our Constitution and all the principles upon which it was built.—
U T Readers,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
13 Sep. 2025
-
These smears are contributing to our ICE law enforcement officers facing 1,000 percent increase in assaults against them.—
Nick Mordowanec,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
The artists say that the number of such abductions since the beginning of the Russian-Ukrainian war in 2014 range from 20,000 to over a million.—
Joanne Shurvell,
Forbes.com,
2 Sep. 2025
-
The high-profile kidnapping is among several abductions that have continued to take place in Haiti, where armed gangs have carried out attacks against large swaths of the capital to control territory.—
Jacqueline Charles,
Miami Herald,
29 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
Daniels steps up, but Wyatt is right there and forces Daniels to cut back right into Sorrell and Brooks, who split the sack for a loss of 2 yards.—
Matt Schneidman,
New York Times,
13 Sep. 2025
-
Employers counter that the cost of providing what unions want adversely affects their competitiveness in other states and nations and forces them to raise prices, reduce employment or even leave California to remain solvent.—
Dan Walters,
Mercury News,
13 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Rapes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rapes. Accessed 16 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share