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 kidnapings
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
For more than four decades, the home invasion rapes of two women went unsolved, California prosecutors say. Daniella Segura, Sacbee.com, 5 Sep. 2025 Estimates of the number of rapes committed vary widely — up to as many as 120,000 — according to data compiled by the researchers, with many reluctant to report the attacks. Dr. Ewelina U. Ochab, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2025 Homicides and rapes were down 25% or more in the first half of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024. Christopher L. Keller, Chicago Tribune, 29 Aug. 2025 Homicides dropped 21%, rapes decreased 24% and robberies declined 41%. Ray Sanchez, CNN Money, 23 Aug. 2025 New Orleans recorded 2,543 crimes against people last year, including 124 murders as well as hundreds of assaults, rapes and robberies. Mandy Taheri, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 Aug. 2025 This was the real work, beyond the stabbings, the rapes, the paranoia, the conspiracy theories, the hate speech, the carved‑out crater in the living world where belief had collapsed in on itself like an exploding star. Literary Hub, 6 Aug. 2025
Verb
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
  • The bills, named for the global pop star — and the frantic rush to get tickets for her shows around the country — strengthen penalties for using bots to buy tickets in bulk and give the state attorney general the ability to investigate potential violations of the law.
    Arpan Lobo, Freep.com, 8 Sep. 2025
  • Like Prairie Village, Leawood focuses on education and safety before writing violations if an officer stops an e-bike or e-scooter operator.
    Taylor O'Connor, Kansas City Star, 8 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Any member who violates the ban would need to pay a fee equal to 10% of the value of the covered investment, and get rid of any profits from that investment.
    Emily Wilkins, CNBC, 3 Sep. 2025
  • In times of war, it is simply forbidden to say anything that violates the general consensus—and the consensus regarding the war is sacred and immutable.
    Uriel Kon September 2, Literary Hub, 2 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • Investigators later confirmed his DNA matched evidence from that case and others, including attacks in Okemos, Michigan, in 1994; Birmingham, Michigan, in 1995; and Columbus, Ohio, in 1997, as well as two assaults in Ventura in the early 1980s.
    Nour Rahal, Freep.com, 6 Sep. 2025
  • In August, Russia’s aerial assaults on Ukraine slowed markedly, with 4,288 projectiles raining down on Ukrainian cities, an average of 138 per day.
    Katya Soldak, Forbes.com, 2 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • The artists say that the number of such abductions since the beginning of the Russian-Ukrainian war in 2014 range from 20,000 to over a million.
    Joanne Shurvell, Forbes.com, 2 Sep. 2025
  • The high-profile kidnapping is among several abductions that have continued to take place in Haiti, where armed gangs have carried out attacks against large swaths of the capital to control territory.
    Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 29 Aug. 2025
Verb
  • But upon Bennet’s arrival, things take a turn for the bizarre, when the wealthy tycoon builds himself a prison cell in the basement, in an apparent act of meditative penance that forces Blakey into an inversion of traditional power dynamics.
    Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 6 Sep. 2025
  • The death sets off a chain of events that forces Lilian to revisit her fractured family life and complicated bond with her ex-husband.
    Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 5 Sep. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Rapes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rapes. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.

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