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
Dowd Hall shows how the ASWPL destroyed the notion of white Southern chivalry, as the women flatly denied that lynchings were because of the rapes of white women. — Literary Hub, 2 Oct. 2026 Administration officials say third-country deportations are the only way to remove the most difficult-to-deport immigrants, including violent criminals who have committed rapes and murders. — Julian Mark, Washington Post, 29 Sep. 2026 Police said all five rapes occurred within a one-mile radius of one another. — Adam Thompson, CBS News, 14 Sep. 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
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
  • All violations would carry a maximum sentence of life in prison.
    — Shelby Talcott, semafor.com, 6 Oct. 2026
  • When Newt Gingrich lost support because of ethics violations and the GOP's poor showing in an election, Republicans elected Hastert to succeed him.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 6 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • Sandinista operatives are suspected in a series of shootings, abductions and killings of Nicaraguan exiles in Costa Rica in recent years.
    — Kate Linthicum, Los Angeles Times, 29 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
  • In groundbreaking litigation, Munkittrick is leading the charge for Warner Music Group in a first-of-its-kind case arguing that the major labels’ licensing of sound recordings for generative AI training violates the Sound Recording Labor Agreement.
    — Claudia Rosenbaum, HollywoodReporter, 8 Oct. 2026
  • The filing argues that WIAA’s gender-identity rule violates Title IX and Brown’s parental rights.
    — Jackson Thompson OutKick, FOXNews.com, 6 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • Over the same period, CATS reported 10 assaults, or less than four per every 10 million passenger trips, on the light rail, data CATS submitted to the federal government shows.
    — Mark Price, Charlotte Observer, 7 Oct. 2026
  • Moscow and Kyiv have intensified their aerial assaults as progress along the 750-mile front line has largely ground to a halt.
    — HANNA ARHIROVA, Arkansas Online, 6 Oct. 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
  • The new series picks up after Korra’s actions, which inadvertently lead to an apocalypse that forces humanity to take refuge in the titular Havens, all of which have visually distinct identities.
    — Eric Vilas-Boas, Vulture, 9 Oct. 2026
  • This constraint saves me from perfectionism and forces me to share my work.
    — Ben Meer, CNBC, 7 Oct. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Rapes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rapes. Accessed 11 Oct. 2026.

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