as in nursing
to give milk to from the breast
the image of a mother suckling her babe is a standard artistic symbol of maternal love and nurturing
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in infant
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of suckling
Tom Sietsema, Washington Post, 11 July 2024
On the menu are ham croquettes, Segovian-style suckling-pig empanadas, seafood fritters, octopus and filet mignon.
—Darla Guillen Gilthorpe, Houston Chronicle, 22 Apr. 2020
Dishes like fatty ox tartare topped with white truffle shavings and wisps of blue cheese, slow-roasted suckling pig dotted with creme fraiche, and aromatic black rice infused with squid brought the bold flavors of Spain into sharp focus.
—Amy Tara Koch, chicagotribune.com, 6 Dec. 2019
Case in point: soppable escabeche like abuela used to make, and a peerless rendition of Castilian roast suckling pig that defies physics with its weightless, so-crisp-it-shatters skin.
—Benjamin Kemper, Condé Nast Traveler, 6 Feb. 2020
See All Example Sentences for suckling
Verb
Prices: Dinner appetizers $18 to $32, main courses $28 to $78, large-format dishes $170 to $600 (for whole suckling pig).
—Tom Sietsema, Washington Post, 11 July 2024
On the menu are ham croquettes, Segovian-style suckling-pig empanadas, seafood fritters, octopus and filet mignon.
—Darla Guillen Gilthorpe, Houston Chronicle, 22 Apr. 2020
Dishes like fatty ox tartare topped with white truffle shavings and wisps of blue cheese, slow-roasted suckling pig dotted with creme fraiche, and aromatic black rice infused with squid brought the bold flavors of Spain into sharp focus.
—Amy Tara Koch, chicagotribune.com, 6 Dec. 2019
Case in point: soppable escabeche like abuela used to make, and a peerless rendition of Castilian roast suckling pig that defies physics with its weightless, so-crisp-it-shatters skin.
—Benjamin Kemper, Condé Nast Traveler, 6 Feb. 2020
See All Example Sentences for suckling
Recent Examples of Synonyms for suckling
Noun
-
For the first time, a medicine that’s designed specifically to treat newborns and infants with malaria has been approved.—
Jennifer Lotito,
Forbes.com,
7 Aug. 2025
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In April, Seth and other researchers gathered in Durham, North Carolina, for a conference at Duke University to discuss tests for consciousness in humans (including people with brain damage, as well as fetuses and infants), other animals and AI systems.—
Mariana Lenharo & Nature magazine,
Scientific American,
6 Aug. 2025
Noun
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But this font of renewal dries up: an eighty-year-old’s bone marrow contains two hundred times fewer stem cells than a newborn’s.—
Tad Friend,
New Yorker,
4 Aug. 2025
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As newborns, the 10 puppies were tossed into a bush near the Mission Viejo Animal Service Center.—
Heather McRea,
Oc Register,
3 Aug. 2025
Noun
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There were grim meetings with every male foundling who landed on the streets or showed up at city hospitals.—
Mara Bovsun,
New York Daily News,
3 May 2025
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But Mufasa's welcome is no kinder than the reception Dickens doled out to the foundlings scattered throughout his novels.—
Tom Gliatto,
People.com,
20 Dec. 2024
Noun
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The scientists also found several neonates and newborns in the area, Pardo-Pérez tells Flora Lichtman of Science Friday, which suggests that the site served as a nursery for the prehistoric animals.—
Sara Hashemi,
Smithsonian Magazine,
8 July 2025
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The warmer climate may also be beneficial for baby whales—called neonates—with poor temperature regulation.—
Sarah Kuta,
Smithsonian Magazine,
20 May 2025
Noun
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Out went the restrained décor of previous administrations; in came gilt cherubs, Rococo mirrors, and medallions gleaming with theatrical flair.—
Lilah Ramzi,
Vogue,
3 Aug. 2025
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Trump has also made significant decorative changes to the Oval Office, incorporating gold accents, cherubs and other ornate touches, and has installed large flagpoles to display American flags on both the north and south lawns.—
Gabe Whisnant,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Suckling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/suckling. Accessed 19 Aug. 2025.
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