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Glite Dictionary
to fecundate

to fecundate

9.9
To make a living thing able to have babies or produce fruit
  • verb
  • /fɛˈkʌndeɪt/
  • Specialized
translation icon : fecundar
  • Scientists are studying how certain fish can fecundate eggs in aquatic environments.

Examples

  • The farmer applied a special fertilizer to fecundate the soil and boost crop production.

  • This suggests that she is (or was) also an earth mother whose womb (the wax gourd) was fecundated by the Sun.

    Academic text (2016)

  • In the scene above, the old woman appears in the darkness of night, the fecundating rain having just ceased to fall.

    Academic text (1995)

  • Traditionally, the shadow has been seen in its double capacity as an omen of death and as a fecundating agent.

    Academic text (2002)

  • The fecundating boglands waiting to infiltrate undo the precision.

    Fiction book (1997)

  • Endocrinologists measured hormonal levels in some of the subjects, while urologists took semen samples from some of the men to measure their "fecundating properties."

    Academic text (1990)

  • At the same time, the motif epitomizes the paradoxical nature of the thunderstorm: the rainfall that fecundates the earth to benefit humanity is frequently accompanied by violent gales and destructive lightning strikes that may result in loss of life and property.

    Academic text (2008)

  • To encourage growth, the gardener used compost to fecundate the flower beds.

Synonyms

to breed
vsto fecundate
167 1.8

To make animals have babies, often by choosing their parents

focuses on the act of making organisms fertile rather than the whole breeding process
to fertilize
vsto fecundate
  • Specialized
34 4.0

To make an egg or plant cell start growing by joining it with a male cell

is a broader term that covers making both plants and animals fertile
to impregnate
vsto fecundate
32 7.2

To make a woman, female animal, or an egg start to grow a baby

is wider in use, applying to creating fruit or offspring in many organisms
to inseminate
vsto fecundate
  • NSFW
15 8.3

Put sperm into a woman or female animal so she can become pregnant

is less specific about the method and covers fertilizing across species and methods
to pollinate
vsto fecundate
12 4.2

To move pollen from one flower to another so it can make seeds

is more general and also applies to animals and nonflowering cases
to cross-pollinate
vsto fecundate
  • Specialized
1 4.9

Move pollen from one flower to another so the plants can make seeds

is more general and covers any fertilizing, not only between different varieties
to pollenate
vsto fecundate
4.2

To move pollen from the male part of a flower to the female part so the plant makes seeds

is broader, covering all acts of making organisms produce offspring or fruit

Antonyms

to sterilize
  • Specialized
15 5.8

To make a person or animal unable to have children by a medical operation

Surface Forms

fecundate infinitive
fecundated past
fecundated past participle
fecundating present participle
fecundates third person singular

Morphology

fecundate = fecund (transparent) = fecund + ate

Formed by the productive adjective-to-verb suffix '-ate' from 'fecund', meaning 'to make fertile', which is a straightforward derivation.

Etymology

Fecundate comes from the Latin root fecundus, which means 'fruitful' or 'fertile'. So, to fecundate is to make a plant or animal able to produce fruit or young.