as in cultivating
to change (a wild animal or plant) over time to make it more suited to life with or use by humans
Humans domesticated wolves to produce man's best friend.
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Recent Examples of domesticating
Lonpi Tipi added that domesticating larvae production ultimately would lead to solving problems related to access to protein- and nutrition-rich food.
—
Emmet Livingstone, NPR, 20 Sep. 2025
But where chimps might merely poke over the ashes, our lineage at some point took the next step in promoting and even domesticating the flames — perhaps picking a smoldering stick from the edges of one grassland, and lighting the grassland in the next valley over.
—Peter Brannen, Big Think, 28 Aug. 2025
Emmet Livingstone, NPR, 20 Sep. 2025
But where chimps might merely poke over the ashes, our lineage at some point took the next step in promoting and even domesticating the flames — perhaps picking a smoldering stick from the edges of one grassland, and lighting the grassland in the next valley over.
—Peter Brannen, Big Think, 28 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for domesticating
Verb
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The Ohio State team specifically focused on shiitake and button mushrooms, cultivating the fungi before dehydrating them for long-term viability.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
27 Oct. 2025
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Moreover, there is magic in cultivating patience.—
Valerie Mesa,
PEOPLE,
27 Oct. 2025
Verb
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In our last installment, Millan shared his step-by-step approach to potty training your puppy.—
Madeline Gunderson,
USA Today,
27 Oct. 2025
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When Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay heard that Ferguson was training with Paulsen before the 2025 draft, his ears perked up.—
Jourdan Rodrigue,
New York Times,
25 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Morrissey explodes the comparatively respectable conventions of prior Frankenstein adaptations by embracing the deranged erotic and fascist implications of building and breeding new life.—
Rory Doherty,
Vulture,
20 Oct. 2025
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Animals at this time are moving for migration, and they’re distracted by breeding and hunting season.—
Owen Clarke,
Outside,
20 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The two-day trial of ten people accused of sexist cyberbullying against France’s First Lady Brigitte Macron by propagating fake and malicious claims about her sexuality and gender began in Paris on Monday.—
Melanie Goodfellow,
Deadline,
27 Oct. 2025
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The idea of waves propagating through a barrier has been around for a long time, since before the existence of quantum mechanics.—
Ethan Siegel,
Big Think,
8 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Commercial company HawkEye 360 collects and processes radio frequency data from its constellation of satellites using advanced algorithms.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 Oct. 2025
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The share of customers using delivery specifically, as opposed to picking up takeout or going to a drive-through, more than doubled from 2019 to 2024.—
Ellen Cushing,
The Atlantic,
27 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Unlike many recycling approaches, this method works across multiple plastics and even mixtures, producing gram-scale yields that point to real-world feasibility, as per the release.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
27 Oct. 2025
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The humanities program will work with the arts board's Folk & Traditional Arts Apprenticeship program to train master and apprentice Wisconsin folk artists in planning and producing public programs that showcase and contextualize cultural traditions, stories and histories.—
Jim Higgins,
jsonline.com,
27 Oct. 2025
Verb
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To review or object to instances where our partners assert a legitimate interest in utilizing your data, please visit our vendors page.—
Walden Green,
Pitchfork,
24 Oct. 2025
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Here's how to take the survey Taylor Advising released a new survey for the community, officers, and department staff utilizing the platform Survey Monkey.—
Jade Jackson,
IndyStar,
23 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Still, the project adds another exclusive tier to a venue already marked by VIP enclaves, raising questions about how much of COTA’s most distinctive real estate will remain truly accessible — and for how long.—
Patrick Iversen,
New York Times,
25 Oct. 2025
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The key to raising emotionally resilient kids is the ability to repair.—
Daniella Gray,
MSNBC Newsweek,
25 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Domesticating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/domesticating. Accessed 30 Oct. 2025.
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