habituated 1 of 2

Definition of habituatednext
as in accustomed
being in the habit or custom not only did the early-morning anchorman become habituated to getting up early, he found he actually liked it

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habituated

2 of 2

verb

past tense of habituate

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 habituated
Adjective
This orangutan is well habituated and sometimes come to a nearby feeding station for food. New Atlas, 29 Mar. 2026 As the residential community around Lake Tahoe has grown, bears have been pushed further uphill and become habituated to human food. Madison Chapman, Outside, 25 Mar. 2026 Over the years, individual dingoes deemed too habituated to humans have been euthanized, in consultation with the Butchulla people. Hilary Whiteman, CNN Money, 24 Jan. 2026 In October, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, with help from federal conservation officials, killed four wolves from the Beyem Seyo pack, which had become unusually habituated to preying on cattle from ranches in Sierra Valley. Sharon Bernstein, Sacbee.com, 6 Jan. 2026 But the study authors claim that the process begins much earlier, when animals become habituated to human environments. Marina Wang, Scientific American, 14 Nov. 2025 Using long-term dietary data of habituated chimpanzees from each of the two field sites, the researchers found that chimpanzees consume about 14 grams of pure ethanol per day of foraging, Dudley said. Soo Kim, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 Sep. 2025 The cats have become habituated to the sounds of vehicles, and six jaguars are presently collared and tracked, making their entire life stories visible to researchers. Megan Spurrell, Condé Nast Traveler, 25 Aug. 2025
Verb
In some cases, DEEP said loud noises are not effective at scaring away bears, especially ones that have already been habituated. Stephen Underwood, Hartford Courant, 11 Mar. 2026 With active conflicts in many parts of the world such as Russia-Ukraine, Pakistan-Afghanistan, and in the Middle East, or humanitarian disaster as in Somalia, the people and states in the world are becoming increasingly war-habituated. Debidatta A. Mahapatra, The Orlando Sentinel, 7 Mar. 2026 The process of learning to suppress a response to the rewarding stimulus happens at the level of the reward system—there is a decrease in the size of the dopamine release caused by a particular reward cue once the circuit has become habituated. Literary Hub, 13 Feb. 2026 But last year, one of the state’s 10 resurgent wolf packs became unusually habituated to hunting and eating livestock instead of wild prey. Sharon Bernstein, Sacbee.com, 6 Feb. 2026 Even Americans who have grown habituated to Trump’s excesses have been shaken by these killings and the reflexively cruel and dishonest response from the administration. Hillary Rodham Clinton, The Atlantic, 29 Jan. 2026 In fact, they’d merely been habituated, the way a bird learns to ignore a rhino. AFAR Media, 30 Oct. 2025 These sediments, the researchers observed, had low bacterial diversity compared to other surrounding sediments, and the bacteria came from families habituated to alkaline environments, such as deep-sea hydrothermal vents or alkaline hot springs. Sharon Udasin, The Hill, 9 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for habituated
Adjective
  • Although many employees became accustomed to flexible schedules during the pandemic, numerous American companies have since issued return-to-office mandates.
    Mary Cunningham, CBS News, 1 May 2026
  • Over time, your system may grow more accustomed to handling stressful conditions — a resilience that can ripple into work, home life and other high-pressure moments.
    Samantha Agate, Miami Herald, 30 Apr. 2026
Verb
  • Scott stars as a prickly author who visits an Irish hotel haunted by a witch and also gets embroiled in a murder mystery.
    Brian Truitt, USA Today, 1 May 2026
  • Unfortunately, her swift weight loss comes with a side of being haunted by the body’s ghost.
    David Faris, TheWeek, 1 May 2026
Adjective
  • And importantly for riders in this segment, the COV S and X are cheaper than most bikes on the used market too.
    New Atlas, New Atlas, 24 Apr. 2026
  • Mop vinyl floors every week in heavily used rooms or areas or more often if needed.
    Daley Quinn, Southern Living, 23 Apr. 2026
Verb
  • The obligatory sanatoria are visited, the obligatory spa towns are frequented, the obligatory Freudian analyst is consulted.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 1 May 2026
  • Seattle Magazine recommends avoiding lawns or parks treated with herbicides, pesticides or fertilizer, and steering clear of roadsides, high-traffic areas and spots frequented by pets.
    Ryan Brennan, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 30 Apr. 2026
Verb
  • In 1933, a writer for this magazine visited Saliger and reviewed letters from satisfied customers.
    Shayla Love, New Yorker, 1 May 2026
  • Finley Stevens, a third-year student at the University of Rhode Island who visited Montréal over his spring break, noted that many of the bars his group visited were packed with college students, many from the University of Rhode Island as well.
    Megan Wallitsch, Travel + Leisure, 30 Apr. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Habituated.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/habituated. Accessed 2 May. 2026.

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