rape
verb · noun
Simple meaning
To seize by force.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
raypIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈɹeɪp
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
transitiveintransitive
To seize by force. (Now often with sexual overtones.)
transitive
To carry (someone, especially a woman) off against their will, especially for sex; to abduct.
To overpower, destroy (someone); to trounce.
Destroy and strip of its possession
“The soldiers raped the beautiful country.”
To exploit an advantage, often involving money, where the other person has little choice but to submit.
transitive
To plunder, to destroy or despoil.
noun
The stalks and husks of grapes from which the must has been expressed in winemaking.
A filter containing the stalks and husks of grapes, used for clarifying wine, vinegar, etc.
Overpowerment; utter defeat.
An insult to one's senses so severe that one feels that they cannot ever be the same afterwards.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A2 · Elementary
- Frequency
- Very Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: To seize by force. (Now often with sexual overtones.)
Used this way, rape is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Nearby words
- ravish , more casual, better suited to speech than writing
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use rape
- “The soldiers raped the beautiful country.”verb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Someone who is suspected of committing rape.
Conviction for rape.
Edible light yellow to brown oil from rapeseed used also as a lubricant or illuminant.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: to seize by force. (Now often with sexual overtones.)
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.