as in sex
sexual union involving penetration of the vagina by the penis
many people believe that it's best to wait to experience sexual intercourse until you're mature enough to handle it
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sexual intercourse
Noun
-
So no therapy will work equally well, or even in the same manner, for both sexes.—
Tad Friend,
New Yorker,
4 Aug. 2025 -
Balls move the plot along in Austen’s novels because, much like the novel itself, a dance is a codified art form and the space where relations between the sexes are tested.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
4 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
The Catholic Church believes intercourse should only happen between married couples and teaches abstinence for all others.—
Ladan Anoushfar,
CNN Money,
1 Sep. 2025
-
Echard consistently denied that intercourse had happened, saying their contact was limited to oral sex, and accused Owens of fabricating medical documents and manipulating pregnancy evidence.—
Miguel Torres,
AZCentral.com,
27 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
As for Cohen’s next novel, Beautiful Losers, which was set in an apartment in Montreal as a bereaved and lust‑tormented narrator reconstructs his relations with the dead, there was a sharp divide of opinion internally at Viking.—
Paul Slovak
September 8,
Literary Hub,
8 Sep. 2025
-
Song Seok-ha, 67, who has been protesting every day for five years near the US Embassy in Seoul to call for a stronger US-South Korea alliance, was concerned about long-term damage to relations.—
Brad Lendon,
CNN Money,
8 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Researchers in Taiwan documented this rare case of a predator exploiting its prey’s mating signal to its own advantage.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
29 Aug. 2025
-
Landscape Second Category Fauna And Flora After mating, a male leopard must escape the female’s claws within seconds.—
Cecilia Rodriguez,
Forbes.com,
29 Aug. 2025
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.
Cite this Entry
“Sexual intercourse.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sexual%20intercourse. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share