1
: unlawful sexual activity and usually sexual intercourse carried out forcibly or under threat of injury against a person's will or with a person who is beneath a certain age or incapable of valid consent because of mental illness, mental deficiency, intoxication, unconsciousness, or deception compare sexual assault, statutory rape
2
: an outrageous violation
3
: an act or instance of robbing or despoiling or carrying away a person by force
raped; raping
raper
noun
Synonyms
Examples of rape in a Sentence
Noun (1)
an international law defining rape as a war crime
the legend of the rape of the Sabine women by the ancient Romans was frequently depicted in classical art
Verb
He is accused of raping the girl.
She was raped by a fellow student.
Recent Examples on the Web
Alaa Elassar, CNN, 5 Nov. 2024
In 2023, Roy Rosselló of the boy band Menudo said that he was drugged and raped by José Menendez, an entertainment executive, in the 1980s.
—Marco Rubio, Newsweek, 2 Nov. 2024
Personal disputes Amount: $92 million Creditor: E. Jean Carroll
Status: Under appeal
Interest rate: About 4.75%
The writer E. Jean Carroll accused Trump of raping her in a department store.
—Dan Alexander, Forbes, 30 Oct. 2024
Roy Rosselló, an ex-member of the boy band Menudo, claimed that José — who was a record executive — raped him.
—Victoria Bekiempis, Vulture, 30 Oct. 2024
His situation worsened when a woman named Effie accused him of raping her in 2017.
—Wesley Stenzel, EW.com, 30 Oct. 2024
He was convicted in April of raping the woman while holding her at gunpoint in September 2021.
—CBS News, 28 Oct. 2024
Her refusal to hold the trial in private meant that the men accused of raping her haven’t been able to cower behind closed doors, protected from public view.
—Claire Cohen, Vogue, 25 Oct. 2024
The lawsuit alleges the music producer, real name Leland Wayne, drugged and raped a woman in 2016, resulting in her pregnancy.
—Taijuan Moorman, USA TODAY, 30 Oct. 2024
Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 8 Nov. 2024
Two more women stepped forward with rape claims a week after Ventura’s lawsuit made global headlines.
—Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 28 Oct. 2024
With its combination of diaristic iPhone videos, news reports, hotel security footage from the night of Ito’s rape and various audio recordings, the film is a visceral testimony of survival and recourse.
—Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 26 Oct. 2024
His notoriously pornographic breakthrough novel, The Elementary Particles, trafficked in masturbation, flashing, orgies, and child rape but really amounted to a diatribe against a godless materialism.
—Judith Shulevitz, The Atlantic, 24 Oct. 2024
The role of Jane Chapman, the Monterey single mother and victim of rape by Kidman's character's abusive husband Perry Wright (Alexander Skarsgård), transformed Woodley from teen idol to serious actor.
—Ryan Coleman, EW.com, 1 Nov. 2024
Metro Boomin, the hip-hop super-producer who has worked with everyone from Future to 21 Savage, was accused of rape in a civil lawsuit filed Tuesday in Los Angeles.
—Thania Garcia, Variety, 30 Oct. 2024
That rape went unsolved until DNA taken in a rape kit matched Abston.
—Anthony Robledo, USA TODAY, 29 Oct. 2024
After the rape, Combs is claimed to have threatened the boy’s parents.
—Dominic Patten, Deadline, 28 Oct. 2024
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Verb
Joseph James DeAngelo was arrested in 2018 in a Sacramento, California, suburb on suspicion of being the man who killed 12 people and raped more than 50 women in the 1970s and 1980s.
—Alaa Elassar, CNN, 5 Nov. 2024
In 2023, Roy Rosselló of the boy band Menudo said that he was drugged and raped by José Menendez, an entertainment executive, in the 1980s.
—Marco Rubio, Newsweek, 2 Nov. 2024
Personal disputes Amount: $92 million Creditor: E. Jean Carroll
Status: Under appeal
Interest rate: About 4.75%
The writer E. Jean Carroll accused Trump of raping her in a department store.
—Dan Alexander, Forbes, 30 Oct. 2024
Roy Rosselló, an ex-member of the boy band Menudo, claimed that José — who was a record executive — raped him.
—Victoria Bekiempis, Vulture, 30 Oct. 2024
His situation worsened when a woman named Effie accused him of raping her in 2017.
—Wesley Stenzel, EW.com, 30 Oct. 2024
He was convicted in April of raping the woman while holding her at gunpoint in September 2021.
—CBS News, 28 Oct. 2024
Her refusal to hold the trial in private meant that the men accused of raping her haven’t been able to cower behind closed doors, protected from public view.
—Claire Cohen, Vogue, 25 Oct. 2024
The lawsuit alleges the music producer, real name Leland Wayne, drugged and raped a woman in 2016, resulting in her pregnancy.
—Taijuan Moorman, USA TODAY, 30 Oct. 2024
Noun
Catherine tells the story of her rape as a trauma survivor does, doing her best to conjure the dark collage of sensory details imprinted on her memory.
—Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 8 Nov. 2024
Two more women stepped forward with rape claims a week after Ventura’s lawsuit made global headlines.
—Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 28 Oct. 2024
With its combination of diaristic iPhone videos, news reports, hotel security footage from the night of Ito’s rape and various audio recordings, the film is a visceral testimony of survival and recourse.
—Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 26 Oct. 2024
His notoriously pornographic breakthrough novel, The Elementary Particles, trafficked in masturbation, flashing, orgies, and child rape but really amounted to a diatribe against a godless materialism.
—Judith Shulevitz, The Atlantic, 24 Oct. 2024
The role of Jane Chapman, the Monterey single mother and victim of rape by Kidman's character's abusive husband Perry Wright (Alexander Skarsgård), transformed Woodley from teen idol to serious actor.
—Ryan Coleman, EW.com, 1 Nov. 2024
Metro Boomin, the hip-hop super-producer who has worked with everyone from Future to 21 Savage, was accused of rape in a civil lawsuit filed Tuesday in Los Angeles.
—Thania Garcia, Variety, 30 Oct. 2024
That rape went unsolved until DNA taken in a rape kit matched Abston.
—Anthony Robledo, USA TODAY, 29 Oct. 2024
After the rape, Combs is claimed to have threatened the boy’s parents.
—Dominic Patten, Deadline, 28 Oct. 2024
Dictionary Entries Near rape
Cite this Entry
“Rape.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rape. Accessed 26 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
rape
1 of 3 noun
: an herb related to the mustards that is grown for animals to graze on and for its seeds which are used as birdseed and as a source of oil
compare canola
rape
2 of 3 verb
raped; raping
1
archaic
: to take away by force
2
: to have sexual relations with by force
raper
noun
rape
3 of 3 noun
: an act or instance of raping
Etymology
Noun
Middle English rape "the herb rape," from Latin rapa, rapum "turnip, rape"
Verb
Middle English rapen "to take away by force," from Latin rapere "to seize"
Medical Definition
rape
1 of 3 noun
: a European herb (Brassica napus) of the mustard family grown as a forage crop and for its seeds which yield rapeseed oil and are a bird food see canola sense 1
rape
2 of 3 transitive verb
raped; raping
: to commit rape on
rape
3 of 3 noun
: unlawful sexual activity and usually sexual intercourse carried out forcibly or under threat of injury against the will usually of a female or with a person who is beneath a certain age or incapable of valid consent compare sexual assault, statutory rape
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