Rape

/ˈɹeɪ̯p/ · noun

Meaning

The act of forcing sex upon another person without their consent or against their will; originally coitus forced by a man on a woman, but now generally any sex act forced by any person upon another person, regardless of gender; by extension, any non-consensual sex act forced on, perpetrated by, or forced to penetrate any being..

Definitions by Sense

1. The act of forcing sex upon another person without their consent or against their will; originally coitus forced by a man on a woman, but now generally any sex act forced by any person upon another person, regardless of gender; by extension, any non-consensual sex act forced on, perpetrated by, or forced to penetrate any being.
2. (slang, sometimes offensive) An experience that is pleasant for one party and unpleasant for the other, particularly when the unwilling partner's suffering is worse than necessary.
3. (now rare) The taking of something by force; seizure, plunder.
4. (now archaic) The abduction of a woman, especially for sexual purposes.
5. (obsolete) That which is snatched away.
6. (obsolete) Movement, as in snatching; haste; hurry.
7. (chiefly transitive) To force sexual intercourse or other sexual activity upon (someone) without their consent.
8. (transitive, intransitive) To seize by force. (Now often with sexual overtones.)

Example Sentences

For quotations using this term, see Citations:rape.

I fled; but he pursued (though more, it seems, Inflamed with lust than rage), and, swifter far, Me overtook, his mother, all dismayed, And, in embraces forcible and foul Engendering with me, of that rape begot These yelling monsters […]

Last April the media world exploded in indignation at the rape and beating of a jogger in Central Park.

Castor and Pollux are one set of twins birthed by Leda after her rape by Zeus in swan form; […]

the Rape of Nanjing

Ruin'd orphans of thy rapes complain.

Ellery Queen deals entirely in murders; you are not fobbed off, as you are with Mr. Leslie Charteris's Saint, with pablum about the rape of the dowager's emeralds, or the theft of the blueprint of the newest submarine.

She worked under the great tapestry with its glowing but subdued tones—huntsmen with lofted horns had been running down a female stag. After the rape, leaving the grooms to bring the trophy home, they galloped away into the soft brumous Italian skyline; […]

Synonyms for rape

Antonyms for rape

Related Words

Word Forms

• rapes
• raping
• raped
• more rape
• most rape
• rape

Usage Notes

Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.

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