rape 1 of 2

1
as in violation
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 kidnaping
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

rape

2 of 2

verb

as in to violate
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

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 rape
Noun
An Alabama man convicted of a 2010 rape and murder on Thursday with a three-drug injection. Jasmine Laws, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 Apr. 2025 Dana Martin, then an inmate at a prison in Las Cruces, N.M., was already serving two life sentences for the 2000 rape and murder of 15-year-old DeAndra Florucci. Ryan Coleman, EW.com, 24 Apr. 2025 Massacre, enslavement, rape, kidnapping of women and children, combined with starvation and disease, more than decimated native nations. Matthew Wills, JSTOR Daily, 23 Apr. 2025 Those assertions by Weinstein include those with multiple accusers who had never met each other giving very similar graphic accounts, going back to the 1970s, of rapes and assaults in hotel rooms, in homes and during industry events. Dominic Patten, Deadline, 23 Apr. 2025 Weinstein has been transported to New York City's Bellevue Hospital several times since he was sentenced to 23 years in prison following his conviction on rape charges in February 2020. Kimi Robinson, USA Today, 20 Apr. 2025 Ashley Judd responds to Harvey Weinstein’s rape conviction reversal Actress Ashley Judd spoke at a press conference after Harvey Weinstein’s rape conviction was overturned by the New York Court of Appeals. Lauryn Overhultz, FOXNews.com, 16 Apr. 2025 Soulja Boy has been ordered to pay a hefty sum to a Jane Doe victim who accused the rapper of rape and assault. Demicia Inman, VIBE.com, 10 Apr. 2025 The data had been filed in a high-profile federal lawsuit involving a 15-year-old girl who said Myers Park High School administrators failed to investigate her on-campus rape. Julia Coin, Charlotte Observer, 9 Apr. 2025
Verb
Brueckner, who was convicted in 2019 for raping a 72-year-old woman, has denied any involvement with the missing toddler. Emily Blackwood, People.com, 3 May 2025 Another claimed that Brand raped her in 2012 in his L.A. home, according to the Sunday Times. Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 2 May 2025 The woman alleged Combs and another male celebrity each raped her during the encounter while a female celebrity looked on. Edward Segarra, USA Today, 1 May 2025 An official forensic medical report said the boy might have been raped but was not decisive, according to a copy published in local media. Tom Rogers, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Apr. 2025 Rojas then straddled the corpse’s head and orally raped the body as the late-night R train rumbled through Manhattan, taking breaks when the doors opened to accommodate passengers. Leonard Greene, New York Daily News, 29 Apr. 2025 The conquistadors raped Indigenous women, chopped off Indians’ hands, used swords as spits to roast Indian babies over fires as their mothers watched. The New Yorker, New Yorker, 23 Apr. 2025 An Imperial Officer abusing his untouchable status to rape an undocumented migrant, while his troops are rounding up other undocumented citizens. James Hibberd, HollywoodReporter, 23 Apr. 2025 Sharpe, 56, is accused in a civil lawsuit filed Sunday in Clark County, Nev., of raping the woman in October 2024 and in January. Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News, 22 Apr. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rape
Noun
  • The firm sued, calling the order a violation of the Constitution's First Amendment protections against government abridgment of speech and Fifth Amendment guarantee of due process - a requirement for the government to use a fair legal process.
    Mike Scarcella and David Thomas, USA Today, 3 May 2025
  • Under South Korean law, anyone who receives a fine exceeding 1 million won ($683) for election law violations is barred from seeking office for five years.
    Hyung-Jin Kim, Los Angeles Times, 1 May 2025
Verb
  • Immigrant rights advocates argued the administration violated a court order by flying four Venezuelans from Guantanamo to El Salvador.
    Nate Raymond, USA Today, 1 May 2025
  • In February, an NYPD administrative judge recommended that Lieutenant Jonathan Rivera be removed from the police force without benefits after finding that Rivera broke the law, violated NYPD use-of-force protocols, and lied to cover up his culpability in the 2019 killing of Allan Feliz.
    Lourdes Rosado, New York Daily News, 30 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • Beijing has also softened its regulatory assault on Chinese technology companies and the property sector.
    Jacky Wong, WSJ, 6 Feb. 2023
  • Zelenskyy has warned for weeks that Moscow aims to step up its assault after about two months of virtual stalemate along the front line that stretches across the south and east.
    Reuters, NBC News, 31 Jan. 2023
Noun
  • The prank, initially targeting multiple players, ultimately involved the abduction of one of them, who was tied up and stuffed in a trunk with a pillowcase over his head, authorities said.
    Shimon Prokupecz, CNN Money, 1 May 2025
  • New pieces of the Holly Bobo murder case will come to light in a new true crime podcast that looks back at the 2011 abduction and killing of the Tennessee nursing student.
    Sean Neumann, People.com, 29 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Companies that need these elements have been forced to buy them from other firms with existing private stockpiles, which have become more valuable in recent weeks.
    ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 24 Apr. 2025
  • Five years after the pandemic forced children into remote instruction, two-thirds of U.S. fourth graders still cannot read at grade level.
    K. Dara Hill, The Conversation, 24 Apr. 2025

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Rape.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rape. Accessed 8 May. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on rape

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!