domesticate

[ duh-mes-ti-keyt ]

/ dəˈmɛs tɪˌkeɪt /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR domesticate ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), do·mes·ti·cat·ed, do·mes·ti·cat·ing.

to convert (animals, plants, etc.) to domestic uses; tame.

to tame (an animal), especially by generations of breeding, to live in close association with human beings as a pet or work animal and usually creating a dependency so that the animal loses its ability to live in the wild.

to adapt (a plant) so as to be cultivated by and beneficial to human beings.

to accustom to household life or affairs.

to take (something foreign, unfamiliar, etc.) for one's own use or purposes; adopt.

to make more ordinary, familiar, acceptable, or the like: to domesticate radical ideas.

verb (used without object), do·mes·ti·cat·ed, do·mes·ti·cat·ing.

to be domestic.

Origin of domesticate

1635–45; < Medieval Latin domesticātus (past participle of domesticāre), equivalent to domestic- domestic + -ātus -ate¹

OTHER WORDS FROM domesticate

do·mes·ti·ca·ble

[duh-mes-ti-kuh-buh l] /dəˈmɛs tɪ kə bəl/, adjective do·mes·ti·ca·tion, noun do·mes·ti·ca·tive, adjective do·mes·ti·ca·tor, noun

non·do·mes·ti·cat·ed, adjective non·do·mes·ti·cat·ing, adjective o·ver·do·mes·ti·cate, verb (used with object), o·ver·do·mes·ti·cat·ed, o·ver·do·mes·ti·cat·ing. un·do·mes·ti·ca·ble, adjective un·do·mes·ti·cat·ed, adjective well-do·mes·ti·cat·ed, adjective

Words nearby domesticate

domestic prelate, domestic science, domestic system, domestic violence, domestic-relations court, domesticate, domesticity, domestique, domett, domical, domical vault

Example sentences from the Web for domesticate

As Sandra Bullock has found out, any attempt to domesticate them will end in a resounding failure.

Enough with the Overalls! |Sean Macaulay |April 7, 2010 |DAILY BEAST
By marginalizing certain political tendencies, the European approach makes it harder to domesticate them.

How Glenn Beck Saves Lives |Reihan Salam |June 19, 2009 |DAILY BEAST
But this difference there is: you can domesticate mountains, but the sea is feræ naturæ.

The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table |Oliver Wendell Holmes
A bushel of letters awaits attention, besides a pair of lizards that I have undertaken to domesticate.

The Letters of Ambrose Bierce |Ambrose Bierce

Watts-Dunton, finding the poor creature moulted and "off its feed," carried it down to Putney, resolved to domesticate it.

Old and New Masters |Robert Lynd
I know a pretty woman from a plain one, I hope, even though I dont personally want to domesticate the recording angel.

The Romance of His Life |Mary Cholmondeley
They also domesticate plant-lice, which have on that account been nicknamed "Ant-Cows."

Great Hike |Alan Douglas

British Dictionary definitions for domesticate

domesticate

sometimes US domesticize (dəˈmɛstɪˌsaɪz)

/ (dəˈmɛstɪˌkeɪt) /

verb (tr)

to bring or keep (wild animals or plants) under control or cultivation

to accustom to home life

to adapt to an environment to domesticate foreign trees

Derived forms of domesticate

domesticable, adjective domestication, noun domesticative, adjective domesticator, noun

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

domesticate

verb (used with object), do·mes·ti·cat·ed, do·mes·ti·cat·ing.

verb (used without object), do·mes·ti·cat·ed, do·mes·ti·cat·ing.

Origin of domesticate

OTHER WORDS FROM domesticate

Words nearby domesticate

Example sentences from the Web for domesticate

British Dictionary definitions for domesticate

sometimes US domesticize (dəˈmɛstɪˌsaɪz)

verb (tr)

Derived forms of domesticate

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

domesticate

verb (used with object), do·mes·ti·cat·ed, do·mes·ti·cat·ing.

verb (used without object), do·mes·ti·cat·ed, do·mes·ti·cat·ing.

Origin of domesticate

OTHER WORDS FROM domesticate

Words nearby domesticate

Words related to domesticate

Example sentences from the Web for domesticate

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sometimes US domesticize (dəˈmɛstɪˌsaɪz)

verb (tr)

Derived forms of domesticate

British Dictionary definitions for domesticate