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
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
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of rapes
CBS News, 30 Jan. 2026
During the nine-month-long ordeal, the then-14-year-old was subjected to daily rapes and endured physical abuse and starvation.
—Stephanie Kaloi, PEOPLE, 22 Jan. 2026
Assaults involving several attackers accounted for 65% of the rapes.
—Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 22 Jan. 2026
Berkeley police announced Friday that a multiagency, multistate investigation had linked a series of rapes and kidnappings in Berkeley, Oakland, Richmond and Texas — going back to 1994 — to a Texas man who was identified through DNA.
—Martha Ross, Mercury News, 17 Jan. 2026
The three-week case centers on the Myanmar authorities’ 2019 offensive against the Rohingya population, in which hundreds of thousands were driven into neighbouring Bangladesh alongside reports of mass killings, rapes, and other acts of violence.
—Tim McDonnell, semafor.com, 13 Jan. 2026
Out of the 2,049 rapes that were reported last year, a quarter of them were considered domestic in nature.
—Rocco Parascandola, New York Daily News, 6 Jan. 2026
The number of rapes in Bridgeport fell from 62 reports to 40 in 2025, marking a more than 35% decline.
—Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 1 Jan. 2026
The number of rapes has increased dramatically, to 310 last year from 198 in 2015.
—Sacbee.com, 4 Dec. 2025
Barry Levitt, Time, 4 Dec. 2025
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
Noun
The four rapes allegedly took place in 2018, 2023 and 2024, the last one after the police investigation began.
—CBS News, 30 Jan. 2026
During the nine-month-long ordeal, the then-14-year-old was subjected to daily rapes and endured physical abuse and starvation.
—Stephanie Kaloi, PEOPLE, 22 Jan. 2026
Assaults involving several attackers accounted for 65% of the rapes.
—Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 22 Jan. 2026
Berkeley police announced Friday that a multiagency, multistate investigation had linked a series of rapes and kidnappings in Berkeley, Oakland, Richmond and Texas — going back to 1994 — to a Texas man who was identified through DNA.
—Martha Ross, Mercury News, 17 Jan. 2026
The three-week case centers on the Myanmar authorities’ 2019 offensive against the Rohingya population, in which hundreds of thousands were driven into neighbouring Bangladesh alongside reports of mass killings, rapes, and other acts of violence.
—Tim McDonnell, semafor.com, 13 Jan. 2026
Out of the 2,049 rapes that were reported last year, a quarter of them were considered domestic in nature.
—Rocco Parascandola, New York Daily News, 6 Jan. 2026
The number of rapes in Bridgeport fell from 62 reports to 40 in 2025, marking a more than 35% decline.
—Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 1 Jan. 2026
The number of rapes has increased dramatically, to 310 last year from 198 in 2015.
—Sacbee.com, 4 Dec. 2025
Verb
The two have always had an uneasy relationship, but in the series' first episode, Constance’s son Willem (Toby Hemingway) rapes Fiona’s daughter Dahlia (Diana Silvers), and is murdered by the Nolan family because of it.
—Barry Levitt, Time, 4 Dec. 2025
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
-
Delcy Rodríguez said Friday that the amnesty would apply to cases from 1999 to the present, but would exclude those prosecuted for homicide, drug trafficking, corruption and human rights violations.—
Anabella González,
CNN Money,
31 Jan. 2026
-
Prosecutors have accused them of civil rights violations for disrupting the Cities Church service.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
31 Jan. 2026
Noun
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In one of the largest mass abductions targeting religious worship centers in the West African nation in recent months, the attackers on Sunday raided three different churches in Kaduna state's Kajuru council area, seizing 177 people before 11 managed to escape.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
23 Jan. 2026
-
Composite sketches of a suspect were released after some witnesses, under hypnosis, claimed to have seen a man at the site of the Tim King abductions but those leads did not materialize.—
Virginia Chamlee,
PEOPLE,
22 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Because of this, Medeiros said, the question for many businesses becomes less about getting ICE to leave their property and more about what to do if ICE violates consent and other legal requirements.—
Wyatte Grantham-Philips,
Los Angeles Times,
27 Jan. 2026
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Democratic senators from Oregon, New Mexico and Massachusetts asked Apple and Google to remove X from their app stores in a letter this month, saying that the mass generation of non-consensual sexualized images violates the stores’ distribution terms.—
Lola Murti,
CNBC,
27 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Authorities in the southwestern province are battling one of the deadliest flare-ups in years, as insurgents in the resource-rich province bordering Iran and Afghanistan step up assaults on security forces, civilians and infrastructure.—
Reuters,
NBC news,
1 Feb. 2026
-
This kind of garbage has led to a more than 1000% increase in the assaults on enforcement officers.—
Jude Joffe-Block,
NPR,
31 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The Sooners have made three of their four shots from behind the arc, including one from Nijel Pack that forces a Sean Miller timeout.—
Thomas Jones,
Austin American Statesman,
31 Jan. 2026
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This also forces soldiers wearing the suits to perform exaggerated, awkward movements to stay on their feet.—
Christopher McFadden,
Interesting Engineering,
31 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Rapes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rapes. Accessed 2 Feb. 2026.
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