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 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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of rapes
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
On average, almost 200 rapes were recorded by the police every single day in the year up to June 2025, which the government say is likely to be an underestimate of how many took place.
—Cerys Jones, New York Times, 6 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
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
On average, almost 200 rapes were recorded by the police every single day in the year up to June 2025, which the government say is likely to be an underestimate of how many took place.
—Cerys Jones, New York Times, 6 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
-
Meanwhile, 24 eateries, including a local cafe, received citations for health code violations such as brown residue in the ice machine, a lack of quaternary ammonia test strips and improperly cooled food.—
Veronica Fernandez-Alvarado
May 15,
Sacbee.com,
15 May 2026
-
Commercial and industrial customers face $500 penalties for a first offense and $1,500 for additional violations.—
Nora O'Neill,
Charlotte Observer,
15 May 2026
Noun
-
The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin for war crimes, accusing him of personal responsibility for the abductions.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
11 May 2026
-
In short, there is no truly meaningful evidence here for aliens, alien visitations, alien abductions, or anything like that.—
Eric Berger,
ArsTechnica,
8 May 2026
Verb
-
The complaint claims the practice amounts to an unlawful invasion of privacy and violates Texas consumer protection laws.—
Claire Carter,
The Washington Examiner,
11 May 2026
-
In April, the group of 19 camps in Texas filed a lawsuit saying the requirement to install fiber optic internet does not make their properties safer, violates the state Constitution and laws regarding property rights, and could prevent them from opening.—
STEPHEN SIMPSON The Texas Tribune,
Arkansas Online,
10 May 2026
Noun
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
Experts have described the phenomenon as an invisible crisis with long-term humanitarian consequences — there are few official figures on the number of displaced people, who have almost no resources to turn to once violence forces them to leave.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
16 May 2026
-
Fighting battery fires Lead-acid batteries still dominate nearly 90 percent of UPS backup systems globally, but their low power density often forces operators to install oversized battery banks to meet sudden power demand.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
15 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Rapes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rapes. Accessed 18 May. 2026.
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