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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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
Julia Bonavita, FOXNews.com, 18 May 2026
Gaff had also been previously convicted of second-degree assault for two violent rapes months after Weaver's murder.
—Nadine El-Bawab, ABC News, 14 May 2026
Hospital is an oasis Inside the sprawling slum, where gang violence has left scores of children orphaned, rapes of women and girls are frequent and cholera, hunger and malnutrition remain entrenched, La Fontaine is widely seen as both an oasis and a lifeline.
—Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 14 May 2026
At least six other incidents of people directly witnessing rapes and gang rapes are outlined in the report, with all of the witnesses describing victims being shot dead.
—Ivana Kottasová, CNN Money, 12 May 2026
But there wasn’t any institutionalized order to conduct rapes.
—Seth Abramovitch, HollywoodReporter, 12 May 2026
During her nine-month-long abduction at age 14, Smart was subjected to daily rapes and endured physical abuse and starvation.
—Cara Lynn Shultz, PEOPLE, 23 Apr. 2026
As the political philosopher Thomas Hobbes (1588–1679) wrote in his magnum opus Leviathan, there would be no culture, no navigation, no knowledge of the face of the earth, no arts, no letters, no society; instead, there would be rapes, thefts, murders, and continual fear of violence.
—George G. Szpiro, Big Think, 9 Apr. 2026
There was no real investigation into my case based on those two photos found by the police during their investigation into the rapes committed against my mother.
—Time, Time, 7 Apr. 2026
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
Noun
O’Brien managed to escape the attack and was pivotal in helping authorities identify Gaff, who was arrested several times in the years after and spent time behind bars for the rapes of two teenage sisters in 1984.
—Julia Bonavita, FOXNews.com, 18 May 2026
Gaff had also been previously convicted of second-degree assault for two violent rapes months after Weaver's murder.
—Nadine El-Bawab, ABC News, 14 May 2026
Hospital is an oasis Inside the sprawling slum, where gang violence has left scores of children orphaned, rapes of women and girls are frequent and cholera, hunger and malnutrition remain entrenched, La Fontaine is widely seen as both an oasis and a lifeline.
—Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 14 May 2026
At least six other incidents of people directly witnessing rapes and gang rapes are outlined in the report, with all of the witnesses describing victims being shot dead.
—Ivana Kottasová, CNN Money, 12 May 2026
But there wasn’t any institutionalized order to conduct rapes.
—Seth Abramovitch, HollywoodReporter, 12 May 2026
During her nine-month-long abduction at age 14, Smart was subjected to daily rapes and endured physical abuse and starvation.
—Cara Lynn Shultz, PEOPLE, 23 Apr. 2026
As the political philosopher Thomas Hobbes (1588–1679) wrote in his magnum opus Leviathan, there would be no culture, no navigation, no knowledge of the face of the earth, no arts, no letters, no society; instead, there would be rapes, thefts, murders, and continual fear of violence.
—George G. Szpiro, Big Think, 9 Apr. 2026
There was no real investigation into my case based on those two photos found by the police during their investigation into the rapes committed against my mother.
—Time, Time, 7 Apr. 2026
Verb
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
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Meanwhile, nine eateries received citations for health code violations such as raw meat stored above prepared food, no valid food manager certification and a lack of employees with a California Food Handler card.—
Veronica Fernandez-Alvarado
May 22,
Sacbee.com,
22 May 2026
-
The approval was then challenged in court by three Maine residents who claimed that thousands of the signatures were invalid because of defects in the collection and certification process, among other procedural violations.—
Austin Perry OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
22 May 2026
Noun
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The last year saw the federal government swarm the city with violent immigration raids and abductions.—
Dominic Patten,
Deadline,
20 May 2026
-
Last year, two mass abductions from schools rocked the nation, with over 300 children taken in the northern region.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
17 May 2026
Verb
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The lawsuit argued that Georgia law mandates transparency in all aspects of the conduct of elections and the counting and recording of votes, and that Raffensperger's decision to exclude observers violates those statutes.—
CBS News Atlanta Digital Team,
CBS News,
19 May 2026
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The escalation began when Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier (R) issued a letter to the NFL earlier this year, alleging that its Rooney Rule violates Florida’s civil rights laws.—
Justin Klawans,
TheWeek,
19 May 2026
Noun
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President Volodymyr Zelensky called the long-range strikes ‘entirely justified’ retaliation for Russian assaults on Kyiv, as Moscow reported intercepting more than 1,000 Ukrainian drones over its territory and occupied Crimea.—
Samya Kullab,
Los Angeles Times,
17 May 2026
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One woman who hid during the attack at a music festival described hearing multiple assaults, according to the report.—
Laura Trujillo,
USA Today,
16 May 2026
Noun
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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
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Named by her new owner, Silvia after a Mexican pop star whose 1980s hits ricochet from a rickety TV, Yuri upends Silvia’s solitary existence on a windswept island off the southern coast of Chile, setting the protagonist on a journey of self-discovery that forces her to confront childhood traumas.—
Scott Roxborough,
HollywoodReporter,
22 May 2026
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Ida is thrilled with her viral moment — the reel has pulled in over 60,000 viewers — and devastated when her mom forces her to delete it, though for reasons yet unknown to the rest of her family, Nora is too late in stopping its spread.—
Beatrice Loayza,
Variety,
22 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Rapes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rapes. Accessed 24 May. 2026.
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