as in lineage
the line of ancestors from whom a person is descended
a family of good breeding that is well respected in the community
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in reproducing
to bring forth offspring
rabbits will breed very frequently unless they're kept separated
Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in raising
to bring to maturity through care and education
he was bred to a life in the military by his father, himself an army captain
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in creating
to be the cause of (a situation, action, or state of mind)
this habit of favoring one employee over the others will breed resentment
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in sleeping
to engage in sexual intercourse
cats breeding outside our window made a horrible racket last night
Synonyms & Similar Words
5
as in planting
to set permanently in the consciousness or mind-set
parents who breed in their children a deep respect for people of all classes
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Recent Examples of breeding
Hanna Wickes, Miami Herald, 28 Apr. 2026
Michigan was home to about 900 breeding pairs of bald eagles in 2023, according to Bird Chronicle.
—Paula Wethington, CBS News, 28 Apr. 2026
Hanna Wickes, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 28 Apr. 2026
He was released into the attraction’s breeding marsh with dozens of other alligators Saturday.
—Dewayne Bevil, The Orlando Sentinel, 27 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for breeding
Noun
Burmese pythons are an invasive species that established a permanent breeding population in South Florida, according to the Conservancy of Southwest Florida.
—Hanna Wickes, Miami Herald, 28 Apr. 2026
Michigan was home to about 900 breeding pairs of bald eagles in 2023, according to Bird Chronicle.
—Paula Wethington, CBS News, 28 Apr. 2026
Verb
On top of that, aoudad compete directly with native sheep for forage — so the faster-breeding invasive species is also eating the native species’ food.
—Hanna Wickes, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 28 Apr. 2026
He was released into the attraction’s breeding marsh with dozens of other alligators Saturday.
—Dewayne Bevil, The Orlando Sentinel, 27 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for breeding
Recent Examples of Synonyms for breeding
Noun
-
The lineage begins well before him.—
New York Times,
New York Times,
28 Apr. 2026
-
Shaped by our lineage, our hair is undeniably beautiful.—
Amaris Encinas,
USA Today,
27 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Five years later teams around the world are reproducing that approach at a fraction of the cost.—
Deni Ellis Béchard,
Scientific American,
22 Apr. 2026
-
The toucans are building stable, reproducing populations within urban spaces — using city green areas as reliable sources of food and shelter.—
Ryan Brennan,
Charlotte Observer,
20 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Walker was also experiencing a mental health issue and was shot after raising a knife.—
Justin Muszynski,
Hartford Courant,
30 Apr. 2026
-
Several early tests failed, raising questions about the program’s future.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
30 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Altman pitched the conversion as critical to securing the vast amount of funding OpenAI needs to fulfill its mission of creating artificial general intelligence — or AGI — that will benefit humanity.—
Bloomberg,
Mercury News,
27 Apr. 2026
-
In 2015, Musk, Altman, Greg Brockman, and a handful of others cofounded OpenAI as a nonprofit with the mission of creating AI for the benefit of humanity.—
Tom Dotan,
Vanity Fair,
27 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
In another, Hurst snapped a picture of a man sleeping rough on a slab of cardboard, one arm shielding his eyes from the sun, and the other pulling up his shirt suggestively.—
Chris Wiley,
New Yorker,
28 Apr. 2026
-
Once constructed, the sleeping cabin program will provide wrap-around services, meals and case management services to residents with the goal of transitioning them into permanent housing.—
Hannah Elsmore,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
26 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Don’t expect to hear the last of this for a long time, not least because police are looking into video footage that appeared to show a York player planting a left hand on a Rochdale fan amid the pandemonium.—
Phil Hay,
New York Times,
27 Apr. 2026
-
Additionally, planting garlic bulbs around the perimeter of your garden can create a protective barrier against deer.—
SJ McShane,
Martha Stewart,
26 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
In this collection of personal essays, keim explores estrangement from family in parallel to estrangement from land and ancestry.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 Apr. 2026
-
Cantens, who is American of Cuban ancestry, is fluent in English and Spanish.—
Walter Villa,
Miami Herald,
27 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Avoid propagating plants that are actively flowering.—
Lauren Landers,
Better Homes & Gardens,
20 Apr. 2026
-
That means that winemakers across what is now France must have switched from domesticating wild grapes to propagating them directly—that is, cloning grapevines by taking cuttings of the plants to start new groves.—
Jackie Flynn Mogensen,
Scientific American,
24 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Breeding.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/breeding. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
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