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
Meanwhile, at least 681 rapes were reported from January to July 2025, with activists noting that unreported cases are much higher. ABC News, 18 June 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 The embassy said three rapes involving jet ski operators were reported in 2024. Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 16 June 2026 The fighting has fueled additional killings, rapes and for-ransom kidnappings. Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 14 June 2026 The forensic scientists were able to pull a partial print from the crime scene and later matched it to Robert Napper — a man who had already been convicted of killing Bisset and her daughter and been connected to a string of rapes. Caroline Blair, PEOPLE, 10 June 2026 Around 1989, over 70 women were raped in a string of incidents police referred to as the Green Chain rapes. Ct Jones, Rolling Stone, 6 June 2026 According to the Department of Transportation, MARTA's rate of personal security events , including assaults, robberies and rapes, for employees and riders is nearly twice the national average. Christopher Harris, CBS News, 4 June 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
  • Three additional restaurants were cited for violations including heavy grease accumulation, missing handwashing signs and an ice machine leak.
    Ruyuan Li. Summary produced by AI assistance, Sacbee.com, 27 June 2026
  • The Justice Manual violations described above represent only one dimension of the illegality of this Fund.
    Melissa Quinn, CBS News, 26 June 2026
Noun
  • There have been 24 fetal abductions reported to the NCMEC in the United States since 1974, according to Steinbach.
    Elizabeth Yuko, Rolling Stone, 18 June 2026
  • My Book of Firsts — and founded The JAYC Foundation, which helps families recovering from abductions or other traumatic events.
    Lynsey Eidell, PEOPLE, 10 June 2026
Verb
  • Filing a false immigration claim violates anti-fraud statues, according to DHS General Counsel James Percival, and those who file them should be held accountable, according to a memo from Percival and reviewed by ABC News.
    Luke Barr, ABC News, 23 June 2026
  • In 2022, a federal judge ruled that the state law violates Section 208 of the Voting Rights Act.
    Hansi Lo Wang, NPR, 22 June 2026
Noun
  • Russia has still not managed to take the much smaller surrounding towns of Chasiv Yar, Pokrovsk and Kostyantynivka, where back-and-forth assaults have been raging for years.
    Bloomberg News, Boston Herald, 27 June 2026
  • The attacks came a day after Ukraine launched what appeared to be one of Kyiv's biggest drone assaults since the Kremlin’s full-scale invasion more than four years ago.
    ABC News, ABC News, 27 June 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 structure forces you to stay invested, which can help people avoid emotional decisions, like selling early, Davidoff said.
    Julian Torres, CNN Money, 27 June 2026
  • Drawn into a love story with a familiar collaborator as her path intersects with women of different ages and cultural backgrounds, all fighting to take control of their own destinies, Maxine finds herself on a journey of self-discovery that forces her to confront the choices shaping her life.
    Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 26 June 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Rapes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rapes. Accessed 29 Jun. 2026.

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