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

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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

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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

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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
Weinstein currently remains incarcerated for his 2022 conviction of rape in California, for which he was sentenced to 16 years in prison in 2023. Christine Pelisek, People.com, 2 May 2025 While Emily is awake but unable to move, Charity takes it upon herself to give her sister pleasure in a horrifying act of incestuous rape. Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 2 May 2025 He is also charged with one count of third-degree rape for allegedly assaulting actress Jessica Mann in 2013. Adam Reiss, NBC news, 1 May 2025 On March 24, Khalili was booked into Santa Rita Jail on suspicion of rape and forcible oral copulation, records show. Nate Gartrell, Mercury News, 1 May 2025 Listen to this article A New Jersey high school basketball star must remain behind bars and will be tried as an adult after being accused of rape in Missouri, a judge ruled Tuesday. Joseph Wilkinson, New York Daily News, 30 Apr. 2025 In the months leading up to his retrial, the Miramax co-founder, who has yet to serve a 16-year prison sentence stemming from his 2022 California rape conviction, urged a judge in New York to start his trial sooner citing his health concerns. Kimi Robinson, USA Today, 24 Apr. 2025 In addition to the charge involving Sokola, Weinstein faces one count of third-degree rape for allegedly raping Mann in a New York City hotel room in 2013. Lauren Del Valle, CNN Money, 23 Apr. 2025 An Alabama man convicted of a 2010 rape and murder on Thursday with a three-drug injection. Jasmine Laws, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 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
  • Under these laws, city officials who violate them do not face consequences.
    Jennifer J. Lee, The Conversation, 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
  • She would be forced to learn to enjoy the feeling of harmless transgression, as Heiss did.
    Lillian Fishman, New Yorker, 4 May 2025
  • So, does something like this become more important to force people to think and, again, put it into the perspective of kids who normally have much more optimism and have the chance to fix what other generations have completely f**ked up?
    Steve Baltin, Forbes.com, 4 May 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Rape.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rape. Accessed 14 May. 2025.

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